Turneffe Atoll is located southeast of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, off the coast of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern 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 maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

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 ...

, from Belize City. It is one of three

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 ...

s of the Belize Barrier Reef, along with Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. It is approximately long and wide, making it the largest coral

in Belize and in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. The atoll was officially declared a marine reserve on November 22, 2012. In October 2013, the Ministry and the Belize Fisheries Department appointed the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association (TASA) to co-manage the Reserve's day-to-day operations. The creation of the reserve was championed and supported by a number of NGOs and foundations including the Blue Marine Foundation, the Bertarelli Foundation and the Oak Foundation. Turneffe is home to many marine species that are threatened and/or commercially important. The land and seascape consists of a network of highly productive flats, creeks, and lagoons dotted by more than 150

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

islands and higher cayes with

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

and littoral forest. Large expanses of intact mangrove and seagrass habitat and shallows provide important nursery functionality for a wide array of fish species, crocodiles, lobster, conch and other invertebrates. It is home to more than 500 species of fish, 65 species of stony corals, sea turtles, manatees, dolphins, seabirds, and other wildlife. In addition, at least three known important fish spawning aggregation sites have been identified. At the northern end of the island group is Mauger Caye, with its eponymous

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, the southern end has a smaller aid to navigation on Caye Bokel.

History

The infamous pirate Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, spent the winter of 1717–1718 harassing ships sailing to and from the port of Vera Cruz, Mexico and traversing the Bay of Honduras. Between 4 and 5 April 1718, at Turneffe, Blackbeard captured the ten-gun logwood cutting sloop ''Adventure'' and forced its captain, David Herriot, to join him. Also on board was Edward Robinson, the ship’s gunner, who would later be involved in the Battle of Cape Fear River. Blackbeard then made Israel Hands captain of the ''Adventure'' and began sailing for

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 2018, YouTuber MatPat created a video on his channel Film Theory theorising that the Turneffe Atoll was the real-life location of the fictional island

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. ...

from the Disney animated film ''Peter Pan''.

References

External links

Oceanic SocietyWhen Blackbeard Scourged the Seas
History.org

Elite Magazine {{coord, 17, 20, N, 87, 52, W, display=title, region:BZ_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Atolls of Belize Belize District Belize Rural South Uninhabited islands of Belize Islands of Belize Caribbean Sea