Back الحاجز المرجاني في بليز Arabic Sistema de Reserves de la Barrera del Petón de Belice AST Белізскі Бар’ерны рыф BE Белизийски бариерен риф Bulgarian Kouraleg Belize BR Barrera d'esculls de Belize Catalan Belize Barrier Reef CEB Belizský bariérový útes Czech Belize barriererev Danish Belize Barrier Reef German

Belize Barrier Reef

Belize Barrier Reef
The Barrier Reef is clearly visible along the eastern coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea.
Map showing the location of Belize Barrier Reef
Map showing the location of Belize Barrier Reef
Map showing the location of Belize Barrier Reef
Map showing the location of Belize Barrier Reef
LocationBelize
Nearest cityBelize City, Belize
Coordinates17°18′56″N 87°32′4″W / 17.31556°N 87.53444°W / 17.31556; -87.53444
Official nameBelize Barrier Reef Reserve System
TypeNatural
Criteriavii, ix, x
Designated1996 (20th session)
Reference no.764
RegionLatin America and the Caribbean
Endangered2009–2018
Brain coral in the Great Blue Hole

The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly 300 metres (980 ft) offshore in the north and 40 kilometres (25 mi) in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300-kilometre (190 mi) long section of the 900-kilometre (560 mi) Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancún on the north-eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula through the Riviera Maya and down to Honduras, making it the second largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is Belize's top tourist destination, popular for scuba diving and snorkeling and attracting almost half of its 260,000 visitors. It is also vital to the country's fishing industry.[1]

Charles Darwin described it as "the most remarkable reef in the West Indies" in 1842.

In addition to its barrier reef, it also boasts three distinct Caribbean atolls: Turneffe Atoll, Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. Lighthouse Reef is the most easterly diving area in Belize, it is home to the Great Blue Hole, made famous by Jacques Cousteau in 1970; Turneffe Atoll lies directly to the east of Belize City and is the nearest of the atolls to that city. These different reefs provide diverse scuba diving opportunities that include walls, pinnacles and reef flats that are located throughout an enormous area of sea.[2]

  1. ^ Harrabin, Roger. (2006-06-12) Reef at forefront of CO2 battle . BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-10-21.
  2. ^ "Scuba Diving in Belize: The Blue Hole, Ambergris and Turneffe Atoll". dive-the-world.com.