Belize barrier reef. Wonders of the planet

Listed world heritage the Belize Barrier Reef has been located since 1996. It has the same important status as Machu Piccha, Grand Canyon and other famous monuments nature. What are the reasons to consider the reef a unique landmark of the planet?

The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest coral reef in the world. It is a group of reefs, consisting of hundreds of shoals and islets. The group also includes 3 coral atolls. These are ring-shaped reefs with beautiful lagoons. The reef stretches along the sea coast of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Its length is 300 kilometers. The area of ​​seven protected water areas is 960 sq. km. km.

The coral reef ecosystem is very diverse and at the same time extremely fragile. A quarter of all existing marine animals and plants live in this corner of the ocean. There are hundreds of species of soft and hard corals and fish. Belize reef sheltered the rarest animals that are on the verge of extinction. Among them: green and big-headed sea ​​turtles, sharp-snouted crocodile, hawksbill turtle and manatee.

Biodiversity:

• 70 types of hard corals
• 36 types of soft corals
• 500 kinds of fish
• hundreds of species of invertebrates

At the same time, according to scientists, only 10% of the species diversity of the reef has been discovered.

The biggest threat to reef life systems comes from marine pollution., uncontrolled tourism and fishing using cyanide. Scientists warn that if the situation is not changed, then in just 20-40 years 70% of the planet's corals will disappear. For this reason, the reef was taken under the protection of UNESCO.

Underwater panorama near the Barrier Reef

According to experts, today the Belize Barrier Reef is recognized as one of the few places on the planet that have preserved almost pristine nature.

For diving enthusiasts warm waters The Belize Reefs are the best place.

Another attraction of this corner of nature is the Blue Hole. It is located on Lighthouse Reef and is protected by the World Heritage Organization. The pioneer of this beautiful underwater corner is the French explorer of the underwater world, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. The Blue Hole is a sinkhole of dark blue water surrounded by living coral.

The diameter of the funnel reaches 300 m. Its depth is more than 100 m.

Underwater walk deep into the funnel only for professional scuba divers. Beginners in diving can have an unforgettable experience swimming in the clearest waters at the edge of the Blue Hole.

Just six kilometers from the reef, to the southeast, is the Hol Chen Underwater Park. The area of ​​the reserve is 8 sq. kilometers.

Another attraction of those places is an island called Half Moon Key. The ridge of the island is covered with amazing soft corals.

The island itself has become home to hundreds of bird species. Half Moon Key is also protected by the World Heritage Convention.

Photo

In 1996, the Belize Barrier Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Now this reef has the same status as Machu Picchu in Peru, the Grand Canyon in the United States and other outstanding monuments of nature and culture. Why is this reef classified as an "Outstanding World Value"?

Preservation of valuable heritage

The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and is considered the largest in the Western Hemisphere. It stretches for 300 kilometers along the Yucatan Peninsula, including most of the coast of the Central American country of Belize. The reef (actually a whole series of reefs) consists of about 450 shoals, or islets, and three coral atolls - ring-shaped reefs with picturesque lagoons. The seven water areas of this reserve, covering an area of ​​960 square kilometers, are under the special care of the World Heritage Convention.

Coral reefs need to be protected because they contain a quarter of all marine plants and animals. By biodiversity The coral reef ecosystem is second only to tropical rainforests. However, scientists warn that if we continue to pollute the seas, use cyanide for fishing and do not control tourism, then within 20-40 years, 70 percent of all corals on the planet will die.

There are 70 species of hard and 36 species of soft corals and 500 species of fish in the protected area of ​​the Belize Barrier Reef. Rare and endangered species of animals live in the waters of the reef, such as the loggerhead and green sea turtles, the hawksbill turtle, as well as the manatee and the sharp-snouted crocodile. Talking about the amazing diversity marine fauna this corner of the ocean, coral reef explorer Julian Robinson noted: “The Belize Barrier Reef provides a lot unique opportunities both for researchers and tourists. […] This is one of the few places where you can still observe the pristine nature in all its glory, but even here it is in danger.”

One of the most beautiful places for underwater walks, this is the Blue Hole, located on the Lighthouse Reef, about 100 kilometers from the coast of Belize. This part of the reserve is also under the protection of the World Heritage. French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau told the world about it during an expedition to the Calypso in 1970. Nestled in the middle of a turquoise sea, the Blue Hole is a limestone sinkhole with dark blue water fringed by living corals. It reaches approximately 300 meters in diameter and more than 120 meters deep. Previously, before the sea level rose, there was a dry cave in the place of the Hole. Over time, the ceiling of the cave collapsed. The walls of the funnel go down vertically by about 35 meters. At this depth, you can see ledges on the walls from which huge stalactites hang. From here a stunning panorama opens - in this place the visibility is 60 meters. In addition to sharks, there is almost no living creatures in the Blue Hole. Scuba divers should take into account that such a dive can cause decompression - it is not for beginners. But crystal clear waters at the edge of the Blue Hole are ideal for snorkelling.

Nearby is another site that is inscribed on the World Heritage List - the quiet islet of Half Moon Key, a refuge for the rare red-footed booby. About 98 other bird species also live here. Half Moon Key extends 1,000 meters deep and is covered with magnificent soft corals. These underwater landscapes leave no one indifferent.

As we have seen from this article, the Belize Barrier Reef is a valuable heritage that must be preserved for future generations. The destruction of the reef could lead to "dangerous impoverishment of the heritage of all peoples."

• Address: Belize City, Belize;
• Length: 280 km;
• Attractions: Glovers Reef, Great Blue Hole, Sapodilla Caye, Half Moon Cay, Hol Chan.

Why is it worth visiting?

More than 140 thousand tourists come to Belize every year. Someone for a rich exotic vacation, but there are those who want to become famous by making a real scientific discovery. After all, out of everything natural wealth Only 10% of the Belize Barrier Reef has been explored today.

The reef ecosystem is incredibly rich and diverse. Here you can see:

• more than 100 types of corals (70 hard and 36 soft);
• manatees;
• turtles (including endangered species: hawksbill, bigheads and green sea turtles);
• sharp-winged crocodiles;
• about 500 species of fish;
• sharks (nannies, Caribbean).

If you are going to visit the Belize Barrier Reef, you will be welcomed. Hotels and diving centers are located on the coast and islands. Hotels cannot be attributed to the "Lux" class, all of them can be compared with three-star European hotels, but believe me, you will have no time to spend time in your room.

When is the best time to come?

Any time of the year is suitable for a trip to the Belize Barrier Reef. In winter, the water temperature does not fall below +23°C, and in summer it reaches +28°C.

Interesting Facts

• - a rather unsafe place for swimming (during high tide, it turns into a funnel with a whirlpool, and with the onset of low tide, it begins to gush, throwing everything out);
• the first to explore the Great Blue Hole was Jacques-Yves Cousteau;
• at the resorts of the Belize Reef, an unusual gambling entertainment is popular - “chicken loto” (chickens are released onto a fenced field lined with even squares, and players make bets - they choose the square on which the chickens will leave the most of their waste products; before receiving the prize, the winner must remove what brought him luck).

How to get there?

If your main purpose of visiting Belize is the reef, then when choosing a flight, it is better to choose Philip S. W. Goldson Airport as your destination. It is located 15 km from the port city, from where it is most convenient to get to the islands by sea. There you can order a one-way sea transfer if you intend to stay in island hotels, or take advantage of one-day tours (you will be taken to any resort on the reef and brought to the mainland in the evening).

Included in the system of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, stretching from the northeastern tip of the peninsula North America, to the southern coast of Honduras. The Mesoamerican reef (its total length is 943 km) is the largest in the Atlantic Ocean and is inferior in length only near the northeast coast of Australia (2500 km). The Belize Barrier Reef is the most remarkable part of the Mesoamerican Reef for its richness of coral species, as well as other animals living in and above the coral labyrinths.
All encyclopedic and gazetteers duplicate the same numbers: the Belize Barrier Reef is home to more than 500 species of fish, 70 species of hard and 36 species of soft corals, hundreds of species of invertebrates, as well as such rare species, like manatees, sea turtles, including big-headed and green sea turtles, Byss and Hawksbill turtles; American sharp-nosed crocodile. The figures are impressive, but approximate: today, about 90% of the fauna of the region remain unexplored, that is, undescribed, unclassified and even unidentified. It is also not known exactly how much the reef fauna is a closed environment or, on the contrary, is subject to changes due to migration. different types, how many endemics live in the region, etc. In a word, from a biological point of view, the Belize Barrier Reef is an unknown world. Just not because scientists are “lazy and incurious.” The reason here is completely different - the unusually intense biological environment of coral reefs as such, the Belize Barrier Reef among them, if it differs in any way, is the stability of the water temperature, it is here all year round- +25-27°C, which favorably affects the photosynthesis of unicellular symbiont algae living in coral polyps, or corals - microscopic intestinal animals. And then everything - in chains, mainly (as in any zoological community) food.
Algae supply corals with oxygen, absorb from them carbon dioxide. Corals live in colonies. Over time, the colonies die off, turning into mineralized skeletons. New colonies settle on them. Coral slime is an ideal substrate for the development of bacterial plankton, the one for zooplankton. Phyto- and zooplankton feed on fish and benthic invertebrates, and they are hunted by predators. Another branch of the chain: algae eat manatees, and they are hunted by crocodiles. Sea turtles, which feed mainly on small fish, are chased by sharks. The coral reef ecosystem is the most diverse and densely populated in the world's oceans. Its biomass is estimated at hundreds of grams per square meter bottom, and total reef animal species can reach a million. Theoretically, but with a high degree of probability.
The very first scientific (and admiring!) description of the reef in 1842 was made by Charles Darwin (1809-1882), he, in fact, discovered this reef for scientific world. Another important discovery was made in 1972.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997). Most of the atolls are in pacific ocean, there they are a product of the activity of underwater volcanoes. The three atolls of the Belize Barrier Reef are of non-volcanic origin, proved Cousteau using the example of the Great Blue Hole he discovered - a karst funnel in the center of Lighthouse Reef, 120 m deep and 305 m in diameter. This is a collapse in the system of karst caves formed in the last ice Age. Before its end, approximately 10,000 - 15,000 years ago, the ocean level was lower by 120-135 m, but when it rose, "holes" like this one formed in the karsts - with piercing blue water.
Approximately 450 islets, large and small coral reef formations are united by the general geographical concept of the Belize Barrier Reef, which, in turn, is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The Belize Barrier Reef stretches along the mainland coast of Belize for a distance of approximately 3 km in the north to 40 km in the south. The prevailing currents in this part caribbean - southwest direction. In the southeastern, deepest part of the region, there are three ring-shaped coral atolls with lagoons: these are Turnef, Glovers Reef and Aitehouse Reef.
The Belize Barrier Reef received the highest score from UNESCO in 1996 - seven of its protected areas were included in the World Natural Heritage List.
Before that, it was popular both among experienced divers and beginners in snorkeling - swimming with a mask, snorkel and fins. But after receiving the prestigious certificate of world attractions, the reef experienced a real tourist boom. And today up to 140,000 people a year come here (the population of Belize is 334,300 people, 2013).
As a resort region, the Belize Barrier Reef began to develop in the second half of the 20th century, but even before that it had its own history. There is archaeological evidence that the Maya, who came to the territory of Belize in the III millennium BC. e., in the area of ​​the Belize Barrier Reef fished in the period from about 300 BC. e. to 900 AD e., after which the bulk of the "Belizean" Maya moved to the territory of present-day Mexico.
From the beginning of the 17th century the islands (kaye) of the reef were ruled by pirates, by origin English and Scots. All caye are islands of greenery - mainly mangrove vegetation, a total of 178 terrestrial plants, 247 species of coastal marine flora and about 200 species of birds nesting on the shores have been identified here. By the end of the XVIII century. the descendants of pirates became fishermen, whose catch was bought by merchants of the Mosquito Coast (now - the territory of Nicaragua). The Caye then experienced several waves of migration. Garifuna Indians and other tribes from Mexico moved here, and from about the middle of the 19th century. more and more white North Americans began to appear, who came to rest.
Most of the shark species that live within the Belize Barrier Reef are not dangerous to humans, as evidenced by the statistics of their encounters with humans, which is maintained by the local conservation service. A well-fed shark is not interested in a person, and the local sharks are almost always full, although, of course, it is impossible to completely exclude the possibility of their attack. For the wildlife of the reef, there are several serious dangers. One of them is a wave-like process in time, most often called "whitening", or discoloration: the reefs lose their characteristic color. This is a sign that the natural immunity of corals is declining, and they begin to get sick, often dying from these diseases. Coral bleaching is most affected by rising ocean temperatures, especially during the passage of hurricanes. In 1995, 10% of corals noticeably faded in this situation. Hurricane Mitch in October 1998 is believed to have caused the death of more than 40% of the corals in this area of ​​the Caribbean. Reefs have the ability to regenerate - thanks to the emergence of new colonies of corals, but the more often phenomena such as bleaching repeat, the less chance reefs have to recover.
Other threats to the Great Belize Reef ecosystem come from humans. This is, first of all, the use by poachers, who are engaged in the so-called aquarium fishing, of poisons of reversible action, immobilizing marine hydrobionts for a while. Once and for all, to stop poaching in this highly profitable business is, admittedly, a practically impossible task: after all, most reef fish and invertebrates do not breed under artificial conditions, and the demand for them is only growing. And no matter how rich the local undersea world, and poaching "mows down" entire fish schools and coral colonies. The process of bleaching of coral reefs, of course, is also affected by pollution of the World Ocean with agrochemical effluents, uncontrolled underwater tourism, shipping and fishing.
AT recent times the area of ​​"bleached" places in the area of ​​the Belize Barrier Reef is declining. A significant role in this is played by the measures taken by the UNESCO Commission for the control of protected areas of our planet. In addition, Belize has developed a special coordination program for the protection natural resources reef. At the end of 2010, it became the first country in the world to categorically ban bottom trawling.

general information

State affiliation: Belize.

Official language of Belize: English.

Currency unit: Belize dollar, legal tender is the US dollar.
largest island: Ambergris Caye (resort).

The largest peninsula, one of the resorts closest to the reef: Placencia.

largest locality : City of San Pedro on the island of Ambergris Caye (13,500 people, 2012).

Other major islands: Caulker Caye, Chapel Caye, Carrie Bow Caye, St. George's Caye, English Caye, Rendezvous Caye, Gladden Caye, Ranguana Caye, Long Caye, Maho Caye, Blackbird Caye, Tre Corner Caye, Northern Caye, Tobacco Caye, Sandborough Caye.

Nearest airport: Philip-Goldson in Belize City (International).

Numbers

Average water depth: in the north of the region - 2-3 m (maximum - 6 m), in the south - 20-25 m.

Maximum Depth (Great Blue Hole): 120 m.
Average tidal wave height: 0.5 m.

highest point: 5 m above sea level.

Climate and weather

Rainy season: from the end of May to November.

Average monthly air and water temperature throughout the year: +26°С, with slight deviations in different parts region.
Average annual rainfall: 1800 mm.
Hurricanes are likely between August and October.
When the northern trade winds blow, the sea rises with excitement (from mid-December to early March), visibility under water becomes worse.

Economy

Attractions

Curious facts

Belize Barrier Reef - a series of coral reefs 280 km long, located along the coast of Belize at a distance of 13 - 24 km from it.

It is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, stretching for 900 km from the northern tip of Yucatan to the coast of Guatemala. This reef system is the largest barrier reef in the Atlantic Ocean and the second largest in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The reef consists of approximately 450 shoals, or islets, and three coral atolls - ring-shaped reefs with picturesque lagoons. There are 70 species of hard and 36 species of soft corals and 500 species of fish in the protected area of ​​the Belize Barrier Reef. Rare and endangered species of animals live in the waters of the reef, such as the loggerhead and green sea turtles, the hawksbill turtle, as well as the manatee and the sharp-snouted crocodile.

Clear waters of the Belize Reef average temperature which are 26 degrees, - the best place for diving enthusiasts. The easiest way to get to the reef is from the town of San Pedro, on the island of Ambergris. The city is only a few hundred meters from the reef. And six kilometers southeast of San Pedro is the Hol Chen Nature Reserve, an eight-square-kilometer underwater park that has a passage through a reef.

One of the most beautiful places for underwater walks is the Blue Hole, located on Lighthouse Reef, about 100 kilometers from the coast of Belize. It was discovered by the French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau during an expedition to the Calypso in 1970. Nestled in the middle of a turquoise sea, the Blue Hole is a limestone sinkhole with dark blue water fringed by living corals. From here, a stunning panorama opens - in this place the visibility is 60 meters. In addition to sharks, there is almost no living creatures in the Blue Hole. Experienced scuba divers dive in this place, but for beginners, the crystal clear waters at the edge of the Blue Hole offer a lot of interesting things.

Nearby is the quiet islet of Half Moon Key, home to the rare red-footed booby. About 98 other bird species also live here. Half Moon Key extends 1,000 meters deep and is covered with magnificent soft corals. These underwater landscapes leave no one indifferent. According to scientists, 90 percent of the reef has not yet been explored.

The coastal ecosystems of Belize have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996 as one of the richest ecosystems in the world. The Belize Barrier Reef reserves include seven marine reserves, 450 reefs and three atolls. The total area of ​​protected areas reaches 960 km².