Portal:Belize

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Belize
Motto: "Sub Umbra Floreo" (Latin)
"Under the shade I flourish"
Anthem: "Land of the Free"
ISO 3166 codeBZ

Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. Part of the Caribbean region, Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Commonwealth Caribbean, the historical British West Indies.

The Maya civilization spread into the area of Belize between 1500 BC and 300 AD and flourished until about 1200. European contact began in 1502–1504 when Christopher Columbus sailed along the Gulf of Honduras. European exploration was begun by English settlers in 1638. Spain and Britain both laid claim to the land until the British victory over the Spanish in the Battle of St. George's Caye (1798). It became a British colony in 1840 and a Crown colony in 1862. From then until 1973 it was known as British Honduras. Belize achieved its independence from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1981. It is the only mainland Central American country which is a Commonwealth realm, with King Charles III as its monarch and head of state, represented by a governor-general. (Full article...)

The Maya Golden Landscape is an area in Belize of approximately 275,000 hectares consisting of protected areas, agriculture, private lands and many small communities that is under the management of the Ya'axché Conservation Trust in Toledo District. The Landscape area encompasses the Bladen Nature Reserve, Colombia River Forest Reserve, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Deep River Forest River Reserve, Port Honduras Marine Reserve, along with commercial and subsistence farmland. Most of the area is dominated with various types of broadleaf forests which varies with topography, soil type and the disturbance history (which are disturbances caused by hurricanes or agriculture). One disturbance that affect the area, as well, is fires caused by agricultural farming due to the slash and burn practice. (Full article...)

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