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Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
Guatemala and Mexico
Geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 45 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 22,960 sq km
land: 22,800 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
total: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note
- from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's
territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences
with Guatemala
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May
to February)
Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m
Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish,
hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland: 92%
other: 3% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (September
to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
Environment - current issues: deforestation; water pollution
from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid waste
disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: only country in Central America without
a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
Geography
Belize, independent state, northeastern Central America, bounded
on the north and northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean
Sea, and on the south and west by Guatemala. Belize, until 1973
known as British Honduras, became independent in 1981 and is a member
of the Commonwealth of Nations. The total area of Belize is 22,965
sq km (8,867 sq mi).
Climate
Subtropical with a brisk prevailing wind from the Caribbean Sea.
High annual temperatures and humidity. Dry and hot climate from
January to April, with rainy season from June to September.
Belize is a small country in Central America. It lies on the southeast
coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
It borders Guatemala on the west, Mexico on the north, and the Caribbean
Sea on the east. Belize covers 22,965 square kilometres.
Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence
of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused
to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay
of the economy.
The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement
in the South American drug trade, and increased urban crime.
Belize
GEOGRAPHY
Size: Approximately 22,960 square kilometers;
land area 21,400 square kilometers.
Topography: Country divided into two main physiographic
regions. Maya Mountains and associated basins and plateaus dominate
southern half of country. Second region comprises northern lowlands
and is drained by numerous rivers and streams. Coastline is flat
and swampy and marked by many lagoons.
Climate: Subtropical climate with pronounced wet
and dry seasons; rainy season from approximately June to December,
dry season from about January to May. Temperatures vary with elevation
and proximity to coast and show little seasonal variation.
Data as of January 1992
Belize
GEOGRAPHY
Boundaries, Area, and Relative Size
Belize is located on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America.
It shares a border on the north with the Mexican state of Quintana
Roo, on the west with the Guatemalan department of Petιn, and on
the south with the Guatemalan department of Izabal. To the east
in the Caribbean Sea, the second-longest barrier reef in the world
flanks much of the 386 kilometers of predominantly marshy coastline.
Small cay islands
totaling about 690 square kilometers, dot the reef. The area of
the country totals 22,960 square kilometers, an area slightly larger
than El Salvador or Massachusetts. The abundance of lagoons along
the coasts and in the northern interior reduces the actual land
area to 21,400 square kilometers .
Belize is shaped like a rectangle that extends about 280 kilometers
north-south and about 100 kilometers east-west, with a total land
boundary length of 516 kilometers. The undulating courses of two
rivers, the Hondo and the Sarstoon, define much of the course of
the country's northern and southern boundaries. The western border
follows no natural features and runs north-south through lowland
forest and highland plateau.
Data as of January 1992
Belize
Geology
Belizean geology consists largely of varieties of limestone, with
the notable exception of the Maya Mountains, a large intrusive block
of granite and other Paleozoic sediments running northeast to southwest
across the south-central part of the country. Several major faults
rive these highlands, but much of Belize lies outside the tectonically
active zone that underlies most of Central America. During the Cretaceous
period, what is now the western part of the Maya Mountains stood
above sea level, creating the oldest land surface in Central America,
the Mountain Pine Ridge plateau.
The hilly regions surrounding the Maya Mountains are formed from
Cretaceous limestone. These areas are characterized by a karst topography
that is typified by numerous sinkholes, caverns, and underground
streams. In contrast to the Mountain Pine Ridge, some of the soils
in these regions are quite fertile and have been cultivated during
at least the past 4,000 years.
Much of the northern half of Belize lies on the Yucatαn Platform,
a tectonically stable region. Although mostly level, this part of
the country also has occasional areas of hilly, karst terrain, such
as the Yalbac Hills along the western border with Guatemala and
the Manatee Hills between Belize City and Dangriga. Alluvial deposits
of varying fertility cover the relatively flat landscapes of the
coastal plains.
Data as of January 1992
Belize
Physical Features
Topographical features divide the Belizean landscape into two main
physiographic regions. The most visually striking of these regions
is distinguished by the Maya Mountains and the associated basins
and plateaus that dominate all but the narrow coastal plain in the
southern half of the country. The mountains rise to heights of about
1,100 meters, with the highest point being Victoria Peak (1,120
meters) in the Cockscomb Mountains. Covered with shallow, highly
erodible soils of low fertility, these heavily forested highlands
are very sparsely inhabited.
The second region comprises the northern lowlands, along with the
southern coastal plain. Eighteen major rivers and many perennial
streams drain these low-lying areas. The coastline is flat and swampy,
with many lagoons, especially in the northern and central parts
of the country. Westward from the northern coastal areas, the terrain
changes from mangrove swamp to tropical pine savannah and hardwood
forest.
The interlocking networks of rivers, creeks, and lagoons have played
a key role in the historical geography of Belize. The largest and
most historically important river is the Belize, which drains more
than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge
of the Maya Mountains across the center of the country to the sea
near Belize City. Also known as the Old River, the Belize River
is navigable up to the Guatemalan border and served as the main
artery of commerce and communication between the interior and the
coast until well into the twentieth century. Other historically
important rivers include the Sibun, which drains the northeastern
edge of the Maya Mountains, and the New River, which flows through
the northern sugar-growing areas before emptying into Chetumal Bay.
Both of these river valleys possess fertile alluvial soils and have
supported considerable cultivation and human settlement.
Data as of January 1992
Belize
Natural Resources
Although a number of economically important minerals exist in Belize,
none has been found in quantities large enough to warrant their
mining . These minerals include dolomite, barite (source of barium),
bauxite (source of aluminum), cassite (source of tin), and gold.
In 1990 limestone, used in roadbuilding, was the only mineral resource
being exploited for either domestic or export use.
The similarity of Belizean geology to that of oil-producing areas
of Mexico and Guatemala prompted oil companies, principally from
the United States, to explore for petroleum at both offshore and
on-land sites in the early 1980s. Initial results were promising,
but the pace of exploration slowed later in the decade, and production
operations never commenced. As a result, Belize remains almost totally
dependent on imported petroleum for its energy needs. However, the
country does possess considerable potential for hydroelectric and
other renewable energy resources, such as solar and biomass. In
the mid-1980s, one Belizean businessman even proposed the construction
of a wood-burning power station for the production of electricity,
but the idea foundered in the wake of ecological concerns and economic
constraints.
Data as of January 1992
Belize
Climate
Belize has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons,
although there are significant variations in weather patterns by
region. Temperatures vary according to elevation, proximity to the
coast, and the moderating effects of the northeast trade winds off
the Caribbean. Average temperatures in the coastal regions range
from 24° C in January to 27° C in July. Temperatures are
slightly higher inland, except for the southern highland plateaus,
such as the Mountain Pine Ridge, where it is noticeably cooler year
round. Overall, the seasons are marked more by differences in humidity
and rainfall than in temperature.
Average rainfall varies considerably, ranging from 1,350 millimeters
in the north and west to over 4,500 millimeters in the extreme south.
Seasonal differences in rainfall are greatest in the northern and
central regions of the country where, between January and April
or May, fewer than 100 millimeters of rain fall per month. The dry
season is shorter in the south, normally only lasting from February
to April. A shorter, less rainy period, known locally as the "little
dry," usually occurs in late July or August, after the initial onset
of the rainy season.
Hurricanes have played key--and devastating--roles in Belizean
history. In 1931 an unnamed hurricane destroyed over two-thirds
of the buildings in Belize City and killed more than 1,000 people.
In 1955 Hurricane Janet leveled the northern town of Corozal. Only
six years later, Hurricane Hattie struck the central coastal area
of the country, with winds in excess of 300 kilometers per hour
and four-meter storm tides. The devastation of Belize City for the
second time in thirty years prompted the relocation of the capital
some eighty kilometers inland to the planned city of Belmopan. The
most recent hurricane to devastate Belize was Hurricane Greta, which
caused more than US$25 million in damages along the southern coast
in 1978.
Data as of January 1992
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