Scuba Diving Belize
With the longest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere and a combination of in shore scuba diving and adventurous oceanic dive sites for the experienced divers, and Belzie scuba diving vacation can be amazing.
Belize offers scuba ehtusiasts an amazing combination of reef, wall, cavern and cay diving offerings.
Belize had a history of pirates in its past and from Belize City there were regular pirate attacks on Spanish treasure ships. Now, it is a peaceful little city on the Caribbean coast of Central America.
Because of its long barrier reef which offers an array of diving experiences for all levels of scuba diving proficiency, Belize is a popular diving destination from the novice to veteran divers.
The barrier reef extends along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsular in the north to Honduras in the south. The reef actually creates a barrier between the ocean and the coast providing calm waters for scuba diving.
There are also island that dot the reef, called cays or cayes. In the southern part of the reef, there is a large depression in the ocean floor owhich has created 3 atolls called Glovers, Turneffe and Lighthouse.
The atolls sit on two parallel ridges unlike the atolls of the Pacific, which grew out of volcanoes.
These atolls rise close to the surface which allows sunlight to penetrate which causes massive coral and sponge growths. Because of this anomaly, it's not surprising the Belize barrier reef is subject to intense conservation and protection.
Many coral reefs throughout the Caribbean have a unique character in that they do not have the diverse ecosystem of the Indo Pacific reefs. However, they do have beautiful individual corals and sponges and the sponges are some of the most colorful in the world. Some of them are more than a century old and can get as large as 6 ft across.
However, the primary attraction for scuba diving in Belize is the diversity of its marine habitats ranging from coral communities on sandy slopes to steep drop offs with enormous fish and sharks.
Scuba divers typically find smaller coral communities within the inshore reefs. These reefs are home to more than 400 species of fish including the 5 unique species of butterfly fish. It's along these areas that encounters with larger marine animals like manatees, whale shark, jewfish, manta rays are common occurrences.
So, make sure you include Belize as a part of your scuba diving itinerary.
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