Lighthouse Reef is an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

in 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 ...

, the easternmost part of the Belize Barrier Reef and one of its three atolls, the other two being Turneffe Atoll and Glover's Reef. Lighthouse Reef is located about southeast 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 ...

. The atoll is of oblong shape, approximately long from north to south, and about wide. It forms a shallow sandy

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

with an area of and a depth between deep. The reef is one of the best developed and healthiest reefs in the Caribbean, "with an emergent fringing reef, a sloping fore reef with a coral rimmed shelf edge, vertical coral walls, and numerous patch reefs in the shallow central lagoon." There are several islands, listed here from north to south: * Sandbore Caye * Northern Caye * Half Moon Caye * Saddle Caye * Long Caye * Hat Caye Lighthouse Reef is known as a snorkelling and diving destination, considered one of the best dive sites in Belize and the whole Caribbean. Notable diving locations are Half Moon Caye Wall, Long Caye Aquarium ("The Aquarium"), Silver Caves, Tres Cocos, and West Point. In addition to these

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s, it is also home to the Great Blue Hole.

Flora and fauna

The flora on the reef islands is mostly

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

trees. On the western half of Half Moon Caye there is a rare surviving example of an atoll siricote ('' Cordia sebestena'') forest, while there is natural vegetation on Sandbore Cay. Half Moon Caye is home to a rookery of magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens''), as well as a nesting colony of some 4000 red-footed booby (''Sula sula''). A colony of white-crowned pigeons (''Columba leucocephala'') formerly nested on Long Cay but has been wiped out by overhunting. The most dominant fish species at the reef are creole wrasse (''Clepticus parrae'') and blue chromis ('' Chromis cyanea''). Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Other prevalent species are (in descending order of prevalence) blackcap basslet ('' Gramma melacara''), bicolor damselfish ('' Pomacentrus partitus''), brown chromis ('' Chromis multilineata''), yellowtail snapper ('' Ocyurus chrysurus''), bluehead wrasse ('' Thalassoma bifasciatum''), royal gramma ('' Gramma loreto''), masked goby ('' Coryphopterus personatus''), and sunshine chromis ('' Chromis insolata''). Endangered and threatened animal species include the

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four Extant taxon, extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida, ...

(''Crocodylus acutus''), three species of sea turtles ( hawksbill (''Eretmochelys imbricata''), loggerhead (''Caretta caretta''), and green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas'')), the Belize endemic leaf-toed gecko (''Phyllodactylus insularis''), and the Allison's anole (''Anolis allisoni'').

Environmental protection

The reef has only partial environmental protection. The Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye have been designated as Natural Monuments and are UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s (as part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System) since 1996. The protected areas are and in size respectively. Additionally, 3 more areas are National Protected Areas: Northern Two Cayes (a Nassau Grouper & Species Protection site), Sandbore (a Spawning Aggregation Site Reserve), and South Point (another Spawning Aggregation Site Reserve). Despite the protection, the atoll suffers from human impact in the form of uncontrolled fishing and tourism.

References

External links

* {{coord, 17, 18, N, 87, 33, W, region:BZ_type:waterbody, display=title Atolls of Belize Belize Rural South Reefs of Belize Underwater diving sites in Belize Uninhabited islands of Belize World Heritage Sites in Belize