Belize Barrier Reef, coral reef that is second in size after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and is the biggest of its sort in the Northern and Western halves of the globe. Reaching out for in excess of 180 miles (290 km) along the Caribbean bank of Belize, it keeps a seaward separation going from around 1,000 feet (300 meters) in the north to 25 miles (40 km) in the south, besides at Rough Point, where it meets the coastline. The 370-square-mile (960-square-km) region is safeguarded by the coterminous Bacalar Chico Public Park and Marine Save (laid out 1996), Blue Opening Regular Landmark (1996), Half Moon Caye Normal Landmark (1982), Glover’s Reef Marine Hold (1993), South Water Caye Marine Save (1977), Snickering Bird Caye Public Park (1991), and Sapodilla Marine Hold (1996).
Almost 450 mangrove cays and sandy islands of differing sizes are held inside the reef and its atolls, which incorporate the Western Half of the globe’s just coral atolls. A few uncommon and jeopardized creature species, like the American crocodile, are tracked down nearby, similar to the world’s biggest populace of West Indian manatees. Different creatures normal to the district are ocean turtles, red-footed boobies and different seabirds, and in excess of 500 types of fish, 65 types of stony corals (Scleractinia), and 350 assortments of mollusks. Above water there are nearly 178 plant species, and beneath are 247 kinds of marine vegetation; algal assortments and turtle and manatee ocean grass beds are ample.
The heat and humidity of the reef — with normal temperatures going from 61 °F (16 °C) in the colder time of year to 88 °F (31 °C) in the late spring — and its exceptional fauna have made it a well known site for travelers. By and large, its essential fascination was as a fishing and exchanging focus; from around 300 bce to 900 ce the Maya involved it for this reason, and in the seventeenth century privateers of Scottish and English drop, having first looked for security at the reef, took advantage of its assets too. In spite of the fact that it is compromised by the impacts of water sports, touring boats (whose anchors destroy segments of reef), and fishing, the reef has been kept generally open to watercraft in view of its significance to the vacationer and fishing ventures. The reef is a significant wellspring of fish, particularly lobster and conch, quite a bit of which is sent out. Somewhere in the range of 100,000 and 150,000 vacationers visit the region every year, congregating around such swimming and jumping focuses as San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and Placencia. The Belize Barrier Reef was assigned an UNESCO World Legacy site in 1996.
