page_title: Belize
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Belize / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Half Moon Caye Natural Monument — in Belize. "The east side of the island was open to the Caribbean. A beautiful place."
context_page_description: Belize is a country in Central America. It used to be called British Honduras, but changed its name in 1973. Long before that it was part of the Mayan Empire. Belize is the only English speaking country in Central America.
  Some people in Belize speak Spanish or Kriol, but English is the official language and the most commonly spoken. This is because Belize is a former colony of the United Kingdom, while its neighbors were once colonies of Spain. Many people speak two languages. Belize is a melting pot of cultures.
  More than three hundred and thirty thousand people live in Belize. Kriols make up about 21% of the Belizean people. Three Maya groups now live in the country: the Yucatec, the Mopan, and Kekchi. The Garinagu are a mix of African, Arawak, and Carib ancestry. There are also Mestizos.
  Belmopan, which is near the centre of the country, is its capital. The first capital was Belize City. Other towns and cities include Belize City, Corozal Town, Orange Walk Town, Punta Gorda, Santa Elena/San Ignacio and San Pedro Town.
  Belize is on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. There are about 450 islands. The largest island, Ambergris Caye, is forty kilometres long.
context_section_description: Belize is 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 Petén, and on the south with the Guatemalan department of Izabal. To the east is the Caribbean Sea.  The Belize Barrier Reef is along most of the 386 kilometres (240 mi) of predominantly marshy coastline. Belize have the second largest living barrier reef in the world. The area of the country totals 22,960 square kilometres (8,865 sq mi). There are many lagoons along the coasts and in the northern part of the country.  This makes the actual land area smaller at 21,400 square kilometres (8,263 sq mi).
  The Hondo and the Sarstoon River make the northern and southern border.
  The north of Belize is mostly flat, swampy coastal plains. In some places it is heavily forested.   The south has the low mountain range of the Maya Mountains. The highest point in Belize is Doyle's Delight at 1,124 m (3,688 ft).  The Caribbean coast is lined with a coral reef and about 450 islets and islands.  The islands are  locally called cayes (pronounced "keys).  Three of only four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere are off the coast of Belize.
  Over 60% of Belize's land surface is covered by forest. 20% is covered by cultivated land (agriculture) and human settlements.  There are also important mangrove ecosystems across Belize's landscape.
caption: A beach on Half Moon Caye, one of Belize's many islands.
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