Santa Cruz Village | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Santa Cruz Village | |
 | |
  Santa Cruz Village | |
| Coordinates: 16°42′11″N88°25′24″W / 16.70306°N 88.42333°W Coordinates: 16°42′11″N88°25′24″W / 16.70306°N 88.42333°W | |
| Country |  Belize |
| District | Stann Creek |
| Elevation | Sea Level 45.76 m (150 ft) |
| Population (2010) [1] | |
| • Total | 1,200 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central) |
| Climate | Am |
Santa Cruz is a village in Stann Creek District, Belize. It is located 24 miles northwest of the Placencia peninsula.
The village was formed as a result of the combined efforts of the people who lived in what was called “Old Santa Cruz“, Banana farm workers and Fisherman of the area. “Old Santa Cruz” was made up of a few houses situated about 2 miles north of the Placencia junction on the Southern Highway, it was demolished for the extension of a banana plantation in the year 2005 by a local developer.
What is now Santa Cruz Village, was first settled by various ethnic groups which includes Mestizo, Maya, and Belizean Creole. The origin of the name dates back to the beginning of this New century at the time the village was established.
Many residents of Santa Cruz Village commute for work daily to the nearby Banana Farms (Belize’s productive agricultural heartland), Shrimp Farm Factory and also to the popular "The Placencia Peninsula” as it is home to significant tourist destination. Most Santa Cruz’s Residents speak Spanish and English very well.
Santa Cruz (Santacruz) is originally a Spanish term meaning “Holy Cross” and referring to the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The name was first used by Levi Flores, one of the first settlers of this village, to identify this place and thereafter villagers followed by making it the official name of this village.
A ten-minute drive from Santa Cruz Village lies the Maya King Waterfalls, bounded by the Maya Mountains to the west and The Caribbean Sea to the east. The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a notable nature reserve within the range. It is also bordered by Santa Rosa Village to the south and Riversdale to the southeast.
During dusk or on a day that is not overcast, Belize’s highest peak, Victoria Peak, can be seen from Santa Cruz over the Maya Mountains in the horizon. The most prominent river within the skirts of Santa Cruz Village is the South Stann Creek River, which drains from the Maya Mountains and flows to the Caribbean Sea.
Belize is a small Central American nation, located at 17°15' north of the equator and 88°45' west of the Prime Meridian on the Yucatán Peninsula. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the east, with 386 km of coastline. It has a total of 542 km of land borders—Mexico to the north-northwest (272 km) and Guatemala to the south-southwest (266 km). Belize's total size is 22,966 km2 (8,867 sq mi), of which 22,806 km2 (8,805 sq mi) is land and 160 km2 (62 sq mi) is water.
Stann Creek District is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2010 census, the district had a population of 32,166 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "stanns," or safe havens used by colonialists coming from the "old world" to the "new world."
Cayo District is a district located in the west part of Belize. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of San Ignacio.
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.
Mullins River is the name of both a river and of a village on that river in the Stann Creek District of Belize.
Placencia is a small village located in the Stann Creek District of Belize.
The Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901) began with the revolt of Native Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called Yucatecos. The latter had long held political and economic control of the region. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the northwest of the Yucatán and the independent Maya in the southeast. There was regular raiding between them.
Hurricane Iris was a small, but powerful Category 4 hurricane that caused widespread destruction in Belize. Iris was the second-strongest storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, behind Hurricane Michelle. It was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the year, forming from a tropical wave on October 4 just southeast of Barbados. It moved westward through the Caribbean, intensifying into a tropical storm on October 5 south of Puerto Rico, and into a hurricane on the following day. While passing south of the Dominican Republic, Iris dropped heavy rainfall that caused landslides, killing eight people. Later, the hurricane passed south of Jamaica, where it destroyed two houses. On reaching the western Caribbean Sea, Iris rapidly intensified into a Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. A small hurricane with an eye of only 7 mi (11 km) in diameter, Iris reached peak winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) before making landfall in southern Belize near Monkey River Town on October 9. The hurricane quickly dissipated over Central America, although its remnants contributed to the formation of Tropical Storm Manuel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The hurricane caused severe damage—destroying homes, flooding streets, and leveling trees—in coastal towns south of Belize City.
Hurricane Hattie was one of the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclones of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, reaching a peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane. The ninth tropical storm, seventh hurricane, fifth major hurricane, and second Category 5 of the season, Hattie originated from an area of low pressure that strengthened into a tropical storm over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 27. Moving generally northward, the storm quickly became a hurricane and later major hurricane the following day. Hattie then turned westward west of Jamaica and strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 km/h). It weakened to Category 4 before making landfall south of Belize City on October 31. The storm turned southwestward and weakened rapidly over the mountainous terrain of Central America, dissipating on November 1.
Hopkins Village is a coastal village in eastern Belize.
The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature reserve in the Stann Creek District of south-central Belize. It was established to protect the forests, fauna and watersheds of an approximately 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi) area of the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains.
Monkey River is a coastal watercourse in southern Belize that rises in the Maya Mountains and discharges to the Caribbean Sea near Monkey River Town. One of Belize's major rivers, Monkey River has northern headwaters which originate in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, where the Swasey Branch drains the East Basin of that wildlife sanctuary. Further south, the Bladen Branch watercourse drains the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains including the ancient Mayan settlement areas of Lubaantun and Nim Li Punit. These two watercourses join to form the Monkey River approximately 16 kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Monkey River. The Monkey River is readily navigated throughout the year using small boats, but navigation above the major confluence becomes more difficult due to lack of depth when the dry season starts about February. Habitats in this watershed provide cover for such diverse species as the ocelot, jaguar, Guatemalan black howler, bare-throated tiger heron, Morelet's crocodile, fer-de-lance and manatee.
Laughing Bird Caye is an island off the coast of Placencia, Belize. On 21 December 1991, Laughing Bird Caye National Park was declared. It is spread over an area of 1.8 acres (0.73 ha). The island is named after a population of laughing gulls which previously bred there.
Bladen Nature Reserve is a landscape of caves, sinkholes, pristine streams and rivers, undisturbed old growth rainforest and an abundance of highly diverse flora and fauna which includes a great deal of rare and endemic species.
The Billy Barquedier National Park is a national park in Belize, located between 16.5–19 miles on the Hummingbird Highway in Stann Creek District, south of Belize City. It is located between the Mullins River and Stann Creek watersheds.
Maya Beach Village is a village in the Stann Creek District of Belize located on the Placencia Peninsula, between Riversdale Village and Seine Bight. Based on the 2010 national census, Maya Beach has a population of 225 year round residents. The village is home to a number of resorts, boutique hotels, and vacation homes. Notable resorts include Maya Beach Hotel Bistro, Belize Ocean Club, and Naia Resort & Spa. The village is often considered a part of the peninsula's largest community and namesake, Placencia, which is a short drive from the village. Maya Beach is served by the Placencia Airport, with the closest international hub being Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City.
Seine Bight is a village on the Placencia Peninsula located in the Stann Creek District of Belize. It is located 2 and a half miles south of Maya Beach Village and North of the village of Placencia. This small village has roughly 1,000 inhabitants, mostly Garifuna people who subsist on fishing, hunting, and homegrown vegetables. The early settlers named their village for their favored fishing tackle, Seine fishing and a bight, a bend or curve in a coastline.
Altitude FC is a Belizean Football Club based in Independence, Belize. Their semipro male team currently competes in highest Football League in the Country, the Premier League of Belize & their Female Team, The Altitude Chicks compete in the National Amateur Women's League (NAWL). They also have a Grassroots Soccer team as a part of their youth development program. They play their home game at The Michael Ashcroft Stadium located in downtown Independence, Belize. Altitude FC represents the Mid-South Football Association from the Stann Creek District of Belize. Altitude is a young, strong Football Club. Founded in 2013, They have competed in local 1st division competitions. For the past year, they have been competing in the top league in the country! In this short time, they have managed to build one on the biggest fan bases in the country.
Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, is a Caribbean country located on the northeastern coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on the northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by Guatemala. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 408,487 (2019). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It has the lowest population and population density in Central America.