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Geography That’s Varied
Belize is located in the southeast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean
coast of Central America. In shape, Belize is roughly rectangular, measuring
173 miles (280 kilometers) from north to south and 67 miles (109 km) from
east to west. It is bounded on the north and part of the west by Mexico, and
on the south and the remainder of the west by Guatemala. The principal
streams are the Belize River; the Río Azul, which forms much of the bound-
ary with Mexico; and the Sarstún River, which forms the southwestern
boundary with Guatemala.
Despite its small size, the geography of Belize is extremely varied. The
country consists primarily of tropical lowland and swampy plains, though
the Maya Mountains in the west rise to more than 3,300 feet (1,100 meters).
Dense forests cover half the country. The remainder is farmland,
scrub
, and
Belize
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atoll—
a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon.
deciduous—
leaf shedding; having leaves that turn color and fall off seasonally.
liana—
a woody vine found in tropical rainforests that roots in the ground.
mangrove—
tropical trees or shrubs that send out many twisting roots, which build land
in coastal areas.
savanna—
a tropical or subtropical grassland containing scattered trees.
scrub—
a stunted tree or shrub.
silt—
fine-grained sediment, especially of mud or clay particles washed from a river or
lake.
Words to Understand in this Chapter