Spanish Lookout is a settlement in the

Cayo District Cayo District is a district located in the west part of Belize. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of San Ignacio. Geography Bein ...

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 wa ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. According to the 2010 census, Spanish Lookout had a population of 2,253 people in 482 households. Spanish Lookout is a community of

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Ra ...

. The Mennonite community in Spanish Lookout is quite modern: they use cars and other modern conveniences and the overall impression of the settlement is rather like rural North America than

or the Caribbean. The citizens of this community speak Plautdietsch as their mothertongue. Most also speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. It is largely an agricultural community with some light industry, furniture making, prefabricated wood houses and the only oil field in production in

History

In 1958

Kleine Gemeinde Kleine Gemeinde is a Mennonite denomination founded in 1812 by Klaas Reimer in the Russian Empire. The current group primarily consists of Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in Belize, Mexico and Bolivia, as well as a small presence in Canada ...

Mennonites from

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

moved to Belize, creating the Spanish Lookout settlement. They objected to a new social welfare law in Mexico and arable land was more readily available in Belize. Over time, a number of families left for

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

and

Nova Scotia, Canada Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Nevertheless, the settlement's population of 1,108 in 1987 has more than doubled until 2010 through natural growth. In the 1980s, refugees arrived from Guatemala and El Salvador finding employment and schooling for their children within the settlement. SLBZECD o

Location and geographic setting

Spanish Lookout is accessible via several roads, going north off the Western Highway. The main access to Spanish Lookout is via the Iguana Creek Bridge. The Central Farm entrance takes you across a river, via one of Belize’s two hand-cranked ferries equipped to transport vehicles. Several vehicles can fit on the ferry at once, while larger trucks may pass one or two at a time.

Climate

Spanish Lookout has a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

, with little temperature difference between seasons, but a pronounced rainy season. The warmest month on average is May. The coolest month on average is January.

Economy

Spanish Lookout specializes in auto parts and is the country's leader in tire hardware and steel imports. It is a major producer of dairy products, poultry, vegetables and cattle produce, supplying the majority of the country with these commodities. The producer of Belize’s most popular chicken brand, Quality Poultry Products, is located at Spanish Lookout. Western Dairies, Belize’s only commercial producer of milk, is also located in the town. Country Foods is Belize's main supplier of eggs. As of 2006, Spanish Lookout has the only commercial oilfield within Belize.

Galeria

File:SLFerry.jpg, Hand-operated Ferry File:Spainsh Lookout small.JPG, principal avenue

Literature

*Heinrich Penner, John D. Reimer, Leonard M. Reimer: ''Spanish Lookout since 1958 - Progress in Action'', Spanish Lookout 2008.

References

{{Reflist Canadian diaspora in North America Populated places in Cayo District Cayo North East Mennonitism in Belize Mexican Belizean Populated places established in 1958 Russian Mennonite diaspora in Belize Ukrainian diaspora in North America