| Aguacate Lagoon | |
|---|---|
  Aguacate Lagoon | |
| Coordinates | 17°19′18.98″N89°4′22″W / 17.3219389°N 89.07278°W |
Aguacate Lagoon is a lake and private reserve located in Western Belize, near the Mennonite community Spanish Lookout. The Lagoon is an herbaceous swamp with permanent waterlogged vegetation. The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is 96 metres. The reserve is approximately 284 acres. [1]
In 1958 the Mennonites were the first group of people to move and settle around the Spanish Lookout area from the Northern part of Mexico. They settled as farmers. In the 1960s, agriculture made strides at Spanish Lookout. [2] "Aguacate" is Spanish for avocado, and there are countless avocado trees located at the reserve; it is believed that is how the lagoon got its name. The area was officially declared a private reserve is 1987 and it is managed by the Aguacate Park officials. [3]
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 water boundary with Honduras to the southeast. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 441,471 (2022). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It is the least populated and least densely populated country in Central America. Its population growth rate of 1.87% per year is the second-highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Belmopan, and its largest city is the namesake city of Belize City. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations. Belize's institutions and official language reflect its history as a British colony.
Toledo District is the southernmost and least populated district in Belize. Punta Gorda is the District capital. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), it is the second most developed region in the country. The district has a diverse topography which features rainforests, extensive cave networks, coastal lowland plains, and offshore cays. Toledo is home to a wide range of cultures such as Mopan, Kekchi Maya, Creole, Garifuna, East Indians, Mennonites, Mestizos, and descendants of US Confederate settlers.
Orange Walk District is a district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town.
San Ignacio and Santa Elena are towns in western Belize. San Ignacio serves as the cultural-economic hub of Cayo District. It got its start from mahogany and chicle production during British colonisation. Over time it attracted people from the surrounding areas, which led to the diverse population of the town today. San Ignacio is the largest settlement in Cayo District and the second largest in the country, after Belize City.
Spanish Lookout is a settlement in the Cayo District of Belize in Central America. According to the 2010 census, Spanish Lookout had a population of 2,253 people in 482 households. Spanish Lookout is a community of Mennonites.
Placencia is a small village located in the Stann Creek District of Belize.
New Bothwell, originally called Kronsthal, is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Manitoba, Canada. It is located approximately 15 kilometres northwest of Steinbach on Provincial Road 216, one kilometre south of Provincial Road 311 and six kilometres north of Highway 52. It has a population of approximately 500.
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in the Cayo District of southern central Belize. It was established in 1944 to protect and manage the native Belizean pine forests. Its boundaries are poorly defined, but it is estimated to cover an area of 106,352.5 acres (430 km2), although much of the reserve has been leased.
Tourism in Belize has grown considerably recently, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country. The growth in tourism has positively affected the agricultural, commercial, and finance industries, as well as the construction industry. The results for Belize's tourism-driven economy have been significant, with the nation welcoming almost one million tourists in a calendar year for the first time in its history in 2012.
The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area is a nature reserve located in northwestern Belize. Rio Bravo, as it is known, was established by Programme for Belize in 1988 with the purchase of 110,044 acres of land from Gallon Jug Agroindustries. With logging encroachment imminent in 1989, the Nature Conservancy joined Programme for Belize to protect the land. Additional land donations from Coca-Cola Foods, Inc. and purchases from New River Enterprises Ltd. enlarged the protected area to 230,875 acres (934.32 km2). Rio Bravo is the largest terrestrial conservation area in Belize, comprising 4% of the country's total land area.
Mennonites in Belize form different religious bodies and come from different ethnic backgrounds. There are groups of Mennonites living in Belize who are quite traditional and conservative, while others have modernized to various degrees.
Blumenort is a local urban district in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, 4.1 kilometres north of the city of Steinbach. It was founded in 1874 by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonite farmers from the Russian Empire. Today, its economy is based on agriculture and the service industry.
Kleine Gemeinde is a Mennonite denomination founded in 1812 by Klaas Reimer in the Russian Empire. The current group primarily consists of Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in Belize, Mexico and Bolivia, as well as a small presence in Canada and the United States. In 2015 it had some 5,400 baptized members. Most of its Canadian congregations diverged from the others over the latter half of the 20th century and are now called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.
Glover's Reef is a partially submerged atoll located off the southern coast of Belize, approximately 45 kilometres from the mainland. It forms part of the outermost boundary of the Belize Barrier Reef, and is one of its three atolls, besides Turneffe Atoll and Lighthouse Reef.
Upper Barton Creek is a mixed Mennonite settlement and expats in Cayo District in Belize in the area of the Barton Creek. The Mennonites in Upper Barton Creek are ethnic Mennonites of the Noah Hoover group.
Belizean Spanish is the dialect of Spanish spoken in Belize. It is similar to Caribbean Spanish, Andalusian Spanish, and Canarian Spanish. While English is the only official language of Belize, Spanish is the common language of majority (62.8%), wherein 174,000 speak some variety of Spanish as a native language. Belizeans of Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, and even Cuban descent may speak different dialects of Spanish, but since they grow up in Belize, they adopt the local accent.
Shipstern Conservation and Management Area is a protected area located in the Corozal District of northeastern Belize.
Lighthouse Reef is an atoll in the Caribbean Sea, the easternmost part of the Belize Barrier Reef and one of its three atolls, the other two being Turneffe Atoll and Glover's Reef. Lighthouse Reef is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Belize City. The atoll is of oblong shape, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) long from north to south, and about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide. It forms a shallow sandy lagoon with an area of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) and a depth between 2 and 6 metres deep.