Belize Barrier ReefSecond Largest in the World
Belize Barrier Reef is the nation’s top tourist attractions. Charles Darwin described it as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies" in 1842. This reef is part of the Meso-American Barrier Reef System. It is 900 Km or 560 miles long and runs from the northeastern tip of the Yucatan peninsula where Cancun is located all the way through the Mayan Riviera and past Belize to Honduras. Click here to Share your Story
Great Blue Hole, a unique phenomenon that can be seen from outer space
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It is the second largest coral reef system, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Belize’s portion is about 300 Km or 186 miles long and runs along the coast of Belize. It is visited by more than a quarter million tourists a year.The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world. It is still in the beginnings of the research since about 90% of the species have not been discovered and cataloged yet. There are 70 hard coral species, 36 soft coral species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of invertebrate species. Environmental protection A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven marine reserves, 450 cays, and three atolls. It totals 960 km² (370 miles²) in area, including: • The Bacalar Chico Marine and Wildlife Reserve • Great Blue Hole, a unique phenomenon that can be seen from outer space. • Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve • Half Moon Caye Natural Monument • Laughing Bird Caye National Park • South Water Caye Marine Reserve • Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve • Hol Chan Marine Reserve The Belize Islands and Cays include Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel, St. George's Caye, English Caye, Rendezvous Caye, Gladden Caye, Ranguana Caye, Long Caye, Maho Caye, Blackbird Caye, Three Coner Caye, Northern Caye, Sandbore Caye.
Belize Barrier Reef is the second in size worldwide
World heritage Site The Reserve System has been designated as a World Heritage Site since 1996 due to its extraordinary beauty and the many species. They are subject to a great threat of pollution cause by many factors like, shipping, fishing, hurricanes and global warming. Some say that 405 of the Belize Barrier reef have been damaged during the last decade only. Mass Bleaching events There have been several mass bleaching events in the corals, in the years 1995, 1997 and 1998. The devastation of Hurricane Mitch was one of the reasons, but it is hard to distinguish between human and natural cause. One thing is clear Belize’s reef is not threatened so much by humans since the concentration of population in the area is much less than in other areas of the reef. When coral bleaching occurs, a large part of the coral dies, and the remaining part of the ecosystem begins the process of repairing the damage. But the chances of recovery are low, as corals that are bleached become much more vulnerable to disease. Disease often kills more corals than the bleaching event itself. With continuous bleaching, the coral reef will have little to no chance of recovery.
Belize Half Moon Caye
Excellent for Water sports and all kind of Belize attractions
Scuba Diving Caribbean, Caribbean Snorkeling, Caribbean Fishing, kayaking, wind and water sports are offered the length of the 185-mile long Belize Barrier Reef extending from the northern tip of Ambergris Caye to the Sapodilla Cays in Belize’s southernmost region. Also worth to mention is that Belize Weather is warm all year round. And, if it rains it will stop. You know how tropical rains are. Throughout the length of the Belize Barrier Reef there are countless opportunities for divers and snorkelers to explore reef formations. A variety of dive sites begin at only 45 feet, and drop to 90 feet or more and contain deep coral canyons as well as the fascinating “drop off.” Scuba certification is required by the licensed tour and dive operators but many offer a “Resort” course which allows visitors to try the sport in a carefully monitored environment and at shallow water depths. For the first time snorkeler, there is no need to be hesitant; once you get the hang of using a mask and snorkel you can start off in waist deep water until comfortable to try deeper water.
Tobacco Caye is part of the Reef System
I recommend this site with lots of information about diving in Belize and worldwide This is a scuba diving portal made for divers and professionals. You will find all the information related to scuba for professionals, beginners and advanced divers. The whole gooddive staff have selected the best diving links in the internet and added them to the information in the portal giving you a real complete resource and a lot of fun while surfing the web. The gooddive.com team is made up of professional divers and passionate hobby divers. This is why all the information in this portal is so relevant and so well organized to be easy to find and includes all needs for the dive industry.
Image Credits: All courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The resorts images are courtesy of the resorts mentioned.
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