Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 61,461 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a distributary of the Belize River. The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea eight kilometres from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in October 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore. It was the capital of British Honduras until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.
From top; left to right: St. John's Cathedral, the Government House, the CARICOM Flag Monument, the Bliss Institute, Aerial of Belize City, Princess Hotel and Casino, the Central Bank of Belize, High Court Building and the Swing Bridge
Belize population density and low elevation coastal zones. Belize City is especially vulnerable to sea level rise.
Belize City, c. 1914
The Swing Bridge in Belize City is the only functioning, manually operated swing bridge in the world.
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
