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| − | {{Images OK}}
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| − | {{Infobox World Heritage Site
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| − | | WHS = Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System
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| − | | Image = [[Image:'Brain' coral.JPG|290px|center|Brain coral off the coast of Belize.]]
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| − | | State Party = {{BLZ}}
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| − | | Type = Natural
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| − | | Criteria = vii, ix, x
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| − | | ID = 764
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| − | | Region = Latin America and the Caribbean
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| − | | Year = 1996
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| − | | Session = 20th
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| − | | Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764
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| − | }}
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| − | {{Infobox_protected_area | name = Belize Barrier Reef
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| − | | iucn_category = IV
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| − | | image = Satellite image of Belize in May 2001.jpg
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| − | | caption = <small>The Barrier Reef is clearly visible along the Belizean coast.</small>
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| − | | base_width = 200
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| − | | locator_x =
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| − | | locator_y =
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| − | | location = Belize
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| − | | nearest_city = Belize City, Belize
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| − | | lat_degrees = 17
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| − | | lat_minutes = 18
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| − | | lat_seconds = 56
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| − | | lat_direction = N
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| − | | long_degrees = 87
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| − | | long_minutes = 32
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| − | | long_seconds = 4
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| − | | long_direction = W
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| − | | area =
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| − | }}
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| − | The '''Belize Barrier Reef''' is a series of [[coral]] reefs straddling the coast of [[Belize]], roughly {{m to ft|300|precision=-2}} offshore in the north and {{km to mi|40|precision=0}} in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a {{km to mi|300|precision=0}}-long section of the {{km to mi|900|precision=-1}}-long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancun on the northeast tip of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] of [[Mexico]] through to offshore [[Guatemala]], making it the second largest coral reef system in the world after the [[Great Barrier Reef]] in [[Australia]]. It is Belize's top [[tourism|tourist]] destination, attracting almost half of its 260,000 visitors, and vital to its [[fishing]] industry. Conditions for [[scuba diving]] and [[snorkeling]] are ideal since water visibility commonly reaches 100-plus feet; water temperatures hover around 80 degrees Fahrenheit; and the barrier reef makes for calm water most of the year.
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| − | [[Charles Darwin]] described it as "the most remarkable reef in the West Indies" in 1842.
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| − | The coastal area of Belize is an outstanding natural system consisting of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore [[atoll]]s, several hundred sand cays, [[mangrove]] forests, coastal [[lagoon]]s, and [[estuary|estuaries]]. The system’s seven sites illustrate the steps in reef development and are a significant habitat for threatened species, including marine [[turtle]]s, [[manatee]]s and the American marine [[crocodile]].
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| − | ==Species==
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| − | The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of [[plant]]s and [[animal]]s, one of the most diverse [[ecosystem]]s of the world:
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| − | *70 hard [[coral]] [[species]]
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| − | *36 soft coral species
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| − | *500 species of [[fish]]
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| − | *hundreds of [[invertebrate]] species
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| − | With 90 percent of the reef still needing to be researched, it is estimated that only 10 percent of all species have been discovered.<ref>[http://www.westminster.edu/staff/athrock/BELIZE/Reef.html Belize Barrier Reef Case Study]</ref>
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| − | ==Environmental protection==
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| − | A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven [[marine reserve]]s, 450 [[cay]]s, and three [[atoll]]s. It totals 370 square miles (960 km²) in area, including:
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| − | *Glover's Reef Marine Reserve
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| − | *Great Blue Hole
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| − | *Half Moon Caye Natural Monument
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| − | *Hol Chan Marine Reserve
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| − | *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.
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| − | Because of its exceptional natural beauty, significant ongoing ecological and biological processes, and contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, the Reserve System has been designated as a [[World Heritage Site]] since 1996.
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| − | Despite these protective measures, the reef is under threat from oceanic [[pollution]], uncontrolled [[tourism]], [[shipping]], and [[fishing]]. [[Hurricane]]s, [[global warming]], and the resulting increase in [[ocean]] temperatures are a particularly significant threat, causing [[coral]] bleaching. It is claimed by scientists that over 40 percent of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998.
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | *[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764 UNESCO World Heritage website]
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| − | *[http://www.unep-wcmc.org/protected_areas/data/wh/reef.html UNEP-WCMC Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System]
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| − | *[http://www.travelbelize.org/ Belize Tourism Board official website]
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| − | [[Category:Geography]]
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| − | {{Credit|256568124}}
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