Belize Barrier Reef

General Info
Belize is a small Central American country that has the good fortune to have a true natural marvel off its coastline. The Belize Barrier Reef is the longest in the Northern Hemisphere, and offers a vast range of diving possibilities for all skill levels.

Secluded Country
Belize covers around 8,880 sq miles (23,000 sq km) and has only 220,000 inhabitants. The country is renowned for its marine life, and due to the efforts of various voluntary organizations and its government, over 40 percent of Belize has been classified as a nature reserve.

The Barrier Reef
Belize also boasts a World Heritage Site—the Belize Barrier Reef. Extending for 174 miles (280 km) and ranging from 9 miles (14 km) to 19 miles (30 km) offshore, the reef offers a huge variety of divable sites to explore. Three of thefour atolls in the Caribbean are found along the length of the reef. An atoll is a circular island that surrounds a lagoon, and is formed when coral reefs grow around the perimeter of a collapsed volcano. Linear sand and coral islands —known locally as cayes—also run along the length of the Barrier Reef, and provide a base for much of the area’s dive activity. Of these, Ambergris Caye is the most popular location.

Diving Highlights
Around 500 fish species swarm over the reef, including five different species of butterfly fish. Some larger animal species can also be seen, including huge jewfish and manta rays on the outer reef, and stingrays and nurse sharks at Shark Ray Alley. There are also healthy populations of reef sharks, as well as manatees in the shallow inshore waters and estuaries of the country. While the most famous site in Belize is undoubtedly the Blue Hole, the area has a great deal more to offer, with classic reef dives, magnificent spur and groove reef formations, and some notable seasonal gatherings of big animals. At Gladden Spit in the south of the country, large numbers of whale sharks meet in feeding aggregations during the early part of the year. These huge ocean-going plankton-feeders grow to as much as 60 ft (18 m) in length.

The Blue Hole
Perhaps the most famous site in Belize is the Blue Hole. Famously explored by Cousteau in 1972, this vast cavern lies 50 miles (80 km) off the east coast of Belize in the middle of Lighthouse Reef. Its perfectly circular entrance measures some 985 ft (300 m) in diameter, with the
cavern plunging to a depth of 410 ft (125 m) beneath. The resident population of bull and lemon sharks in the interior of the Blue Hole is an eerie sight for divers visiting the stalactite formations found 130 ft (40 m) below the surface.

Essential information

• Water Temperature 77–82°F (25–28°C)
• Ecosystem Tropical
• When to visit Diving in Belize takes
• place year-round, but the hurricane
• season begins around October.
• Must-sees Whale sharks at Gladden
• Spit, Blue Hole, Shark Ray Alley.

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