Geography of Belize

Geography of Belize

Belize which was formerly known as British Honduras until 1981 is an 8,867 acre plot of land located in Central America. The territory covered by Belize is slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts (Gall 45). Mexico surrounds Belize to the north, Guatemala to the southwest and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The population of Belize conists of approximately 256,000 people. Rougly seventy-one percent of Belize's population resides in cities such as Belize City, San Ignacio, and Punta Gorda. The remaining population lives in rural areas (Krutzinna 66-67).

Belize's climate is tropical and humid throughout most of the year. The rainy season falls between the months of May and October. THe average temperature along the Belizean coast is 78.8°, while temperatures rise inland. The hurricane season is the most influential climatic element to Belize's environment and well being, which lasts from July to October. For example, the capital city of Belize was moved from coastal Belize City to Belmopan central Belize in 1971 because of the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Hattie in 1961 (Krutzinna 105).

Belmopan has been Belize's captial since 1971. It is seated in the center of Belize on the Belize River, half way between the coastal Belize City and the Belize- Guatemalan border town of San Ignacio. The capital has not become the bustling metropolis that Belize City continues to be, but it does provide a train station for travelers as well as cultural buildings for some light sight-seeing. Belmopan, Belize is geographically and politically important to Belize, however, it is still not the center of Belizean culture and economy (Krutzinna 105-106).

Forests and woodlands cover about ninety-two percent of Belize's terrain (Marshall 447). These forests and woodlands are home to seven hundered species of trees and approximately four thousand species of flowering plants. Among the seven hundred species of trees living in the forests and woodlands are mahogany, pine, cedar and rosewood. Belize exports much of its mahogany, pine and cedar woods, which directly affects the issue of deforestation it is currently facing from the abundance of trees that have been cut down in the past (Gall 49). Deforestation has become an important topic in Belize since many of its trees have been cut down for sale on the international market.