What is the Belize Barrier Reef?
The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world and the finest manifestation of a coral reef ecosystem in this Hemisphere for its size, unique variety of reef types and abundance of corals thriving in pristine conditions. Aesthetically and ecologically, its integrity is virtually unharmed. Forming a nearly continuous wall for 150 miles along the continental shelf edge, the Belize Barrier Reef provides life and security to the entire country. Immediately seaward are three oceanic atolls including Lighthouse Reef, which is unequalled in the Caribbean for its development, variety of reef types and biological diversity. The Belize Barrier Reef ecosystem has remained pristine because the small, subsistence-level population has not stressed it unduly, and because Belize has existed on the periphery of global commerce.
