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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 reef lies within the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the world's second longest barrier reef after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It stretches from the middle of the Yucatán Peninsula, down the entire coast of Belize, and terminates in Honduras. Rocky Point, within Bacalar Chico, is the only location in Belize where the barrier ...
Name Image Location Criteria Year Description; Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System: Belize District, Stann Creek District, Toledo District. Natural (vii) (ix) (x) 1996 The coastal area of Belize is an outstanding natural system consisting of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries.
The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300-kilometre-long (190 mi) section of the 900-kilometre-long (560 mi) Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancún on the northeast tip of the Yucatán Peninsula through the Riviera Maya up to Honduras making it one of the largest coral reef systems in the world.
The country of Belize has roughly 386 km of coastline, and has many coral reefs, cayes, and islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of these form the Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the western hemisphere stemming approximately 322 km (200 mi). The reef and its islands have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Half Moon Caye Natural Monument is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage Site which was established on December 4, 1996, by the United Nations World Heritage Committee after they formally adopted seven marine protected areas along the Belize Barrier Reef and its adjacent atolls under UNESCO at their meeting in Mérida, Mexico.