The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize. It's a 300 kilometers long section of the 900 kilometres long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. It is Belize's top tourist destination popular for scuba diving and snorkeliing, and is vital to its fishing industry. Charles Darwind described it as ''the most remarkable reef in the West Indies'' in 1842. The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, and is one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world: 70 hard coral species, 36 soft coral species, 500 species of fish and hundreds of invertebrate species. With 90% of the reef still needing to be researched, it is estimated that only 10% of all species have been discovered. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Many thanks to Carrie for awesome postcard of underwater beauty of the Belize coral reefs!
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