Belize is an independent and sovereign country located on the north eastern 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 387,879 (2017). Its mainland is about 180 mi (290 km) long and 68 mi (110 km) wide. It has the lowest population and population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 1.87% per year (2015) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Central America is located on the southern tip of North America, or is sometimes defined as a subcontinent of the Americas, bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. Central America consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The combined population of Central America has been estimated to be 41,739,000 and 42,688,190.
Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a tributary of the Belize River. The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea five miles from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore on October 31. It was the capital of British Honduras until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.
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 colonialism. 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.
Hummingbird Highway is one of the four major highways in Belize. It connects the George Price Highway outside of Belmopan, Cayo District to the Southern Highway outside of Dangriga, Stann Creek District. It partially follows, and sometimes uses the infrastructure of, the former Stann Creek Railway.
The 2005 protests in Belize are two separate but related incidents of civil unrest in the Central American nation, occurring in January and April.
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with drawbridge, and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical definition used in some other forms of English, in which drawbridge refers only to a specific type of moveable bridge.
The Pyrmont Bridge, a heritage-listed swing bridge across Cockle Bay, is located in Darling Harbour, part of Port Jackson, west of the central business district in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1902, the bridge initially carried motor vehicle traffic via the Pyrmont Bridge Road between the central business district and Pyrmont. Since 1981 the bridge has carried pedestrian and bicycle traffic only, as motor vehicles were diverted to adjacent freeway overpasses. The bridge was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 June 2002.
The Glebe Island Bridge is a heritage-listed disused swing road bridge over Rozelle Bay, located at Bank Street, Victoria Road, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Pyrmont in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge, which connects Rozelle to Pyrmont by road, is one of the last remaining swing bridges of its type in Australia and in the world. It was designed by Percy Allan and built from 1899 to 1903 by Bridges Branch of NSW Public Works Department. It is also known as RMS Bridge No. 61. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 29 November 2013.
There is no active rail transport in Belize, although there were lines in the past.
Albert is an electoral constituency in the Belize District of Belize.
The Belize–Mexico border is an international border between Belize and Mexico. It is 250 km (160 mi) long and almost exclusively follows the course of the Hondo River. It separates Belize from the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Campeche.
The Snow-Reed Swing Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in the Fort Lauderdale area, and one of the few remaining swing bridges in Florida. Located between the 300 and 500 block of Southwest 11th (Palm) Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the bridge connects the neighborhoods of Sailboat Bend and Riverside Park. In 1989 it was officially renamed and designated a historic landmark.
Hawkesworth Bridge is a one lane suspension bridge in San Ignacio, Belize. Built in 1949 and imported from Middlesbrough, England, it crosses the Macal River linking San Ignacio to its sister-town Santa Elena. It is currently the only drivable suspension bridge in Belize. Work began in October 2012 on a new, larger bridge that will link Santa Elena and San Ignacio that will span 154 meters across the Macal River.
The Maritime Museum is a museum in Belize City, Belize. The museum is located at the North Front St, Marine Terminal at Swing Bridge in the former fire station. The museum opened in 1996.
The Boca Grande Causeway is a causeway located in Charlotte County, Florida connecting the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island with the mainland near Placida. The 2.5 mile causeway crosses Gasparilla Sound and consists of three bridges, and is the only vehicular access to the island.
Fort George is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 1989 by former Prime Minister of Belize Said Musa of the People's United Party. Musa also represented the constituency from 1979 to 1984.
Haulover Creek is a coastal stream that runs through the center of Belize City and discharges into the Caribbean Sea. It is known for being the inlet of the Belize River, and separating the northern and southern areas of Belize City. There are multiple bridges built across it such as the Swing Bridge (Belize), which is the oldest of its kind in Central America, and the Belcan Bridge, which is used as the finishing line for the annual La Ruta Maya river challenge.
