Monkey River is a

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

in southern

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

that rises in the

Maya Mountains The Maya Mountains are a mountain range located in Belize and eastern Guatemala, in Central America. Etymology The Maya Mountains were known as the ''Cockscomb'' or ''Coxcomb Mountains'' to Baymen and later Belizeans at least until the mid-2 ...

and discharges to the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

near

Monkey River Town Monkey River Town (or Monkey River) is a village in the north of the Toledo District of Belize. It is on the Caribbean Sea on the southern shore of the mouth of Belize's Monkey River. In 2011 the estimated population was 200 people. The village ...

. One of Belize's major rivers, Monkey River has northern headwaters which originate in the

Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 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 area of the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains. ...

, where the Swasey Branch drains the East Basin of that

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

sanctuary. Further south, the Bladen Branch watercourse drains the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains including the ancient

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

n settlement areas of Lubaantun and

Nim Li Punit Nim Li Punit () is a Maya Classic Period site in the Toledo District of the nation of Belize, located 50 kilometres north of the town of Punta Gorda, and directly adjacent to the village of Indian Creek. Nim Li Punit is sometimes known as Big Hat ...

. 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 (of Bladen and Swasey Branches) 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 Guatemalan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Guatemala * A person from Guatemala, or of Guatemalan descent. For information about the Guatemalan people, see Demographics of Guatemala and Culture of Guatemala. For spec ...

bare-throated tiger heron The bare-throated tiger heron (''Tigrisoma mexicanum'') is a wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, found from Mexico to northwestern Colombia, with one recorded sighting from the United States in Hidalgo County, Texas.Morelet's crocodile Morelet's crocodile ''(Crocodylus moreletii)'', also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in fresh waters of the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about ...

, fer-de-lance and

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

Hydrology

The Monkey River is one of six large watersheds in the Maya Mountain Marine Area Transect, which connects the Maya Mountains to the coastal waters of the

Gulf of Honduras The Gulf or Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Dangriga, Belize, to La Ceiba, Honduras. ...

. According to

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

: "The Monkey River in southern Belize supports one of the most pristine coral reefs in Central America, which is part of the second largest barrier-reef system in the world." Thus the

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

of the Monkey River supports not only freshwater

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the river's upper reaches and estuarine species in the lower reaches, but also the sensitive offshore

Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...

. The Monkey River drains much of southern Belize through the Bladen (southern) Branch, which includes tributaries from a part of southern Guatemala and the southern slopes of the Maya Mountains in Belize, containing the ancient Mayan sites of

and Lubaantun. The (northern) Swasey Branch of the Monkey River rises in the East Basin of the

, a wilderness area set aside for jaguar preservation. During the rainy season, the Monkey River manifests considerable

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids ...

Ecology

The Monkey River has several important ecosystems including: (a) montane broadleaf primary forest; (b) upland

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

broadleaf secondary forest; (c) upper river freshwater riverine habitat; (d) lower reach estuarine and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

habitats; and (e)

coral reef and turtle-grass marine habitat. This shallow marine environment is home to the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

manatee. Each of these five discrete

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s contains important habitat for either terrestrial or aquatic species of southern Belize. The highest upland watershed area contains expansive forests, which are primary in the highest elevations and secondary in the lower

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topogr ...

of the Maya Mountains. These montane areas provided an impenetrable protective backdrop for the ancient Mayan settlements here, preventing invasion from any tribes resident in Honduras or Guatemala. These forests have important lumber species such as mahogany and

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

trees and a broad panoply of other broadleaf tree species as well as numerous lianas. Fauna include the jaguar,

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlif ...

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...

and

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

ous pit viper Fer-de-lance, ''

Bothrops asper Terciopelo (''Bothrops asper'') is a species of pit vipers occurring at low to moderate elevations in northeast Mexico and Central America, and into South America where it is known from elevations up to 2600 meters in the Colombian and Ecuado ...

''. Along the middle and lower reaches, the forest is secondary, betraying the heritage of banana farms and

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

practises used historically in this area. Today much of this area is protected as the Payne's Creek National Park. Here, relatively dense

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

canopy has returned, resulting in a closed canopy of approximately 15 to 20 metres in height. Yellow bay cedar and other significant sized broadleaf species abound, along with numerous tropical vines and thorny undergrowth flora. A

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

is essential for exploration even where there is an established trail. Black howler monkey troops are plentiful, each troop maintaining a home range of 40,000 to 70,000 square metres in this forest.

Ecotourism

Boat trips up the Monkey River are a significant part of

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

for southern Belize.Penn State University: Monkey River Assessment
/ref> Most trips originate from

Placencia Placencia is a small village located in the Stann Creek District of Belize. History Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, the Placencia Peninsula was inhabited by the Maya. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Maya in this area ...

or Roberts Grove, both marinas on the southern part of the Placencia Peninsula, located approximately 35 kilometres northeast of the mouth of the Monkey River. These small motorised boats typically stop at

for lunch and an exposure to the roadless native populace at that village. Most often the boat trips land at a location about ten kilometers upriver from the mouth to allow visitors a walk through the

secondary growth In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips of ...

forest.

References

External links

Eco Tours in Monkey River
{{coord, 16, 21, N, 88, 29, W, display=title, region:BZ_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Belize Toledo District