| Geography of Belize |  |
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Belize (formerly British Honduras until the name of the country
was changed in 1973) lies on the eastern or Caribbean coast of Central America,
bounded on the north and part of the west by Mexico, and on the south and the
remainder of the west by Guatemala. The inner coastal waters are shallow and are
sheltered by a line of coral reefs, dotted with islets called 'cayes', extending
almost the entire length of the country.
There is a low coastal plain, much of it covered with mangrove
swamp, but the land rises gradually towards the interior. The Maya Mountains and
the Cockscomb Range form the backbone of the southern half of the country, the
highest point being Doyle's Delight (1124 meters above sea level) in the
Cockscomb Range. The Cayo District in the west includes the Mountain Pine Ridge,
ranging from 305 to around 914 metres above sea level. The northern districts
contain considerable areas of tableland. There are many rivers, some of them
navigable for short distances by shallow-draught vessels. A large part of the
mainland is forest.
The area of the mainland and cayes is 8,867 square miles. The
country's greatest length from north to south is 280 kilometres and its greatest
width is 109 kilometres. The climate is subtropical, tempered by trade winds.
Temperatures in coastal districts range from about 10 °C (50°F) to about 35.6°C
(96°F); inland the range is greater. Rainfall varies from an average of 1,295
millimetres in the north to 4,445 millimetres in the extreme south. The dry
season usually extends from February to May and there is sometimes a dry spell
in August
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