San Ignacio (Belize)
Coordinates: 17 ° 10 ′ N , 89 ° 4 ′ W
San Ignacio is a city in Belize and the capital of the Cayo Province . It has 9,925 inhabitants and, together with the smaller Santa Elena, forms the second largest city in Belize. The city is located 35 kilometers west of Belmopan on the Western Highway near the border with Guatemala .
The Mayan ruins of Xunantunich and Cahal Pech as well as the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, which is an important archaeological site, are located near the city .
history
The original name of the settlement under Spanish rule was "El Cayo", in English "island". The name comes from the fact that in addition to the banks of the two rivers Macal and Mopan , the city was completely surrounded by water by a canal between these two, which, however, dried up in the second half of the 20th century. On October 19, 1904, El Cayo was recognized as a city by the government of British Honduras.
In recent years, San Ignacio has increasingly absorbed the previously independent village of Santa Elena. San Ignacio and its sister city together form Belize's second largest city as the "Town of San Ignacio and Santa Elena". They are connected by the only suspension bridge in Belize, the Hawksworth Bridge, which was built over the Macal in 1949.
geography
San Ignacio is located on the banks of the Macal and Mopan Rivers, about 101 km west of Belize City and 35 km west of the capital Belmopan . The city has an area of 6.5 km 2 .
San Ignacio, view of the Hawksworth Bridge
The pedestrian mall and tourist center, Burns Avenue
A small park in front of the police station
Main street of San Ignacio
population
Much of the population consists of mestizos and Creoles , as well as Lebanese and Mopan . San Ignacio also has a large proportion of the Chinese population, the majority from Guangzhou , who immigrated here in the mid-20th century. A significant number of Mennonites also live near the city. In 2010 the city had a population of 9,925, including 4,856 males and 5,069 females. There are a total of 2593 households with an average of 3.8 members.
religion
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Chapter 87: Town Councils Act, Revised Edition 2003 . In: The Laws of Belize . Government of Belize. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
- ^ Census 2010 Provisional Population and Households, by Sex and Major Geographic Divisions . Statistical Institute of Belize. Retrieved May 19, 2011.