Half Moon Caye

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Half Moon Caye
Half Moon Caye
Half Moon Caye
Waters Caribbean Sea
Geographical location 17 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  N , 87 ° 32 ′ 0 ″  W Coordinates: 17 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  N , 87 ° 32 ′ 0 ″  W
Half Moon Caye (Belize)
Half Moon Caye
length 1.16 km
width 260 m
surface 18 ha
Highest elevation 2.4  m
Residents uninhabited

Half Moon Caye is an island off the coast of Belize . It is one of the 450 islands of the Belize Barrier Reef . Administratively it belongs to the Belize District .

location

Half Moon Caye is located in the southeastern part of the Atoll Lighthouse Reef , the furthest from the mainland atoll within the Belize Barrier Reef. The distance to the mainland ( Belize City ) is about 80 km. Due to the frequent hurricanes in the region, the island is slowly shifting north.

history

Nothing is known about a settlement or use of the island by the Maya who live in what is now Belize . Like the Belizean mainland, Half Moon Caye was under Spanish colonial rule from 1617 and under British colonial rule from 1798; since 1981 it belongs to independent Belize.

From 1820 to 2010 there was a lighthouse on the island. The last construction was built in 1931, but collapsed in 2010 under a tropical storm. Since 1924 the island has been a nature reserve as the British Crown Reserve Bird Sanctuary . Following the introduction of the National Parks System Act 1981, the island and surrounding reef were classified as a Natural Monument in 1982 and are administered by the Belize Audubon Society, a spin-off of the National Audubon Society . Nowadays Half Moon Caye is a popular diving spot and day trip destination; in 2000 7000 tourists visited the island. There is a small visitor center as well as a jetty in the eastern part of the island.

Flora and fauna

The western part of the crescent-shaped island is covered by dense coastal forest, which offers refuge and habitat for birds and reptiles. Among other things, numerous Ziricots grow there . These serve as a nesting place for a colony of red-footed boobies , because of which the island was originally placed under protection. The current population is around 4,000. The magnificent frigate bird , which also nestles on Half Moon Caye , is kleptoparasitic to the red-footed booby . Approx. 20 other bird species nest on Half Moon Caye, plus almost 80 species of migratory birds that temporarily settle on the island. The Belize-endemic Island Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus insularis) and Allison's anole also live in the forest . Other reptile species common on the island are the green iguana and the black iguana . On the eastern part of the island there is only a sparse vegetation with coconut palms. The sea around the island includes groupers, eagle rays and sea turtles. The hawksbill sea ​​turtle and the loggerhead turtle lay their eggs on the south beach of the island.

  • Red-footed booby

  • Magnificent frigate bell

  • Allison's anole

  • Hawksbill sea turtle

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AmbergrisCaye.com: Wide angle view of Half Moon Caye. Retrieved June 2, 2020 .
  2. ^ Lighthouses of Belize , data collection from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  3. ↑ USAid.com: Lighthouse Reef Atoll Conservation and Protection Project. Retrieved June 2, 2020 . (PDF, 180 KB)
  4. ^ Island profile on the Belize Audubon Society website. Retrieved February 12, 2016 .
  5. ^ Encyclopedia of Life
  6. ^ Encyclopedia of Life