Belize Barrier Reef

Beautiful Belize Barrier Reef.

Belize Barrier Reef is a very large coral reef located off the coast of Central America’s country of Belize, and the reef notably contains the largest blue hole known on Earth, the Great Blue Hole.
‘Belize Barrier Reef’ is officially known as the ‘Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System’, and the area is a significant marine ecosystem that also includes considerable quantities of mangroves.
The second largest coral reef on Earth and largest reef of the northern hemisphere is Belize Barrier Reef, and it covers an area of 963 square kilometres (372 square miles), and is approximately 300 kilometres (186 miles) in length.
Belize Barrier Reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and later marked as endangered in 2009, mostly due to illegal hunting, fishing and timber removal.
Species discovered in the vicinity of Belize Barrier Reef include 65 coral species, 350 species of mollusc, more than 500 fish species, as well as numerous other species; while it is said that 90 percent of the reef’s total number of species have not yet been discovered.

Belize Barrier Reef is the home to seven designated and protected reserves, 450 sand islands known as ‘cays’, plus three ring shaped reefs known as ‘atolls’.
Hurricanes, shipping, over-fishing, tourism, pollution and coral bleaching are all believed to be primary factors that continue to endanger the Belize Barrier Reef.
The native Mayan people used Belize Barrier Reef as a source of food, especially during 300BC to 900AD, and some of the cays were used as burial sites for the indigenous population.
Belize Barrier Reef is popularly visited by tourists for its prized snorkelling and scuba diving attractions, with more than 128,000 tourists visiting the reef annually.
Many bird species can be found in the area of the Belize Barrier Reef, as well as vulnerable or endangered species like the American crocodile, a number of turtle species, and the West Indian manatee.

Amazon: