Belize: Physical Geography

Belize covers about 22,966 square kilometers (8,867 square miles) on the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south. Its Caribbean coastline runs roughly 386 kilometers (240 miles) and is low, flat, and dotted with lagoons. The country's terrain divides broadly into the Maya Mountains, which rise across the south-central interior, and a northern lowland that extends into a swampy coastal plain.

The Maya Mountains form a block of ancient granite and sedimentary rock running from northeast to southwest, reaching their highest point at Doyle's Delight, about 1,124 meters (3,688 feet), near the Cockscomb Range. Karst features such as sinkholes, caverns, and underground streams surround the range, including in the Yalbac and Manatee Hills, and the Mountain Pine Ridge area is considered among the oldest exposed land surfaces in Central America. Belize's longest river, the Belize River, runs about 290 kilometers (180 miles) and drains more than a quarter of the country, while the New River flows north into Chetumal Bay and the Sibun River cuts through the central lowlands.

Offshore, the Belize Barrier Reef extends about 322 kilometers (200 miles) along the coast, making it the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and the second longest in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The reef shelters hundreds of cayes and atolls, including Ambergris Caye, the Turneffe Islands, Lighthouse Reef, and Glover's Reef, and encloses one of the region's richest marine environments. Rainfall varies sharply across the country, from about 1,350 millimeters in the north and west to more than 4,500 millimeters in the far south.