Haulover Creek is a

coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

that runs through the center of

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

and discharges into the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. It is known for being the inlet of the

Belize River The Belize River runs through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City (). The Belize River Valley is largely tropical rainf ...

, 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 Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, and the Belcan Bridge, which is used as the finishing line for the annual La Ruta Maya river challenge.

History

This creek has been used by fishing boats to easily access the center of Belize City and the Caribbean Sea. The creek still hosts the fleet of traditional fishing wooden boats (mostly from Sarteneja, Chunox and Copper bank) moored on posts to this present day (while the remaining Belize city wooden boats known as "sandlighters" that used to dock here now anchor in the north coast of Belize city). Its name is believed to be attained from those who had to "haul" their cattle over the creek with ropes prior to the construction of the swing bridge in 1922. The creek is now famously used for easily accessing the Caribbean Sea from the city as observed by the hosting of the

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

to distant islands such as San Pedro and Ambergris Caye, and the sighting of many fishing boats anchored in the stream.

Pollution and flooding

Haulover Creek is a noted high risk area for

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

in Belize City.

References

{{reflist Rivers of Belize

History

Pollution and flooding

See also

References