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.
The Barrier Reef is clearly visible along the eastern coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea.
Brain coral in the Great Blue Hole
Green sea turtle with remora fish on its back
Close-up view of the reef
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast.
An excerpt from the 1898 Gazette that declared 10 September an official holiday, Battle of St. George's Caye Day
A British Honduras postage stamp overprinted in 1962 to mark Hurricane Hattie
National Assembly in Belmopan
A British Royal Marine training in the jungle of Belize in 2017