Lighthouse Reef


Lighthouse Reef is an atoll in the Caribbean Sea, the easternmost part of the Belize Barrier Reef and one of its three atolls, the other two being Turneffe Atoll and Glover's Reef. Lighthouse Reef is located about southeast of Belize City. The atoll is of oblong shape, approximately long from north to south, and about wide. It forms a shallow sandy lagoon with an area of and a depth between deep.
The reef is one of the best developed and healthiest reefs in the Caribbean, "with an emergent fringing reef, a sloping fore reef with a coral rimmed shelf edge, vertical coral walls, and numerous patch reefs in the shallow central lagoon."
There are several islands, listed here from north to south:
Lighthouse Reef is known as a snorkelling and diving destination, considered as one of the best dive sites in Belize and the whole Caribbean. Notable diving locations are Half Moon Caye Wall, Long Caye Aquarium, Silver Caves, Tres Cocos, and West Point. In addition to these coral reefs, it is also home to the Great Blue Hole.

Flora and fauna

The flora on the reef islands is mostly coconut trees. On the western half of Half Moon Caye there is a rare surviving example of an atoll siricote forest, while there is natural vegetation on Sandbore Cay. Half Moon Caye is home to a rookery of magnificent frigatebird, as well as a nesting colony of some 4000 red-footed booby. A colony of white-crowned pigeons formerly nested on Long Cay but has been wiped out by overhunting.
The most dominant fish species at the reef are creole wrasse and blue chromis. Other prevalent species are blackcap basslet, bicolor damselfish, brown chromis, yellowtail snapper, bluehead wrasse, royal gramma, masked goby, and sunshine chromis.
Endangered and threatened animal species include American crocodile, 3 species of sea turtles, loggerhead, and green sea turtle ), the Belize endemic leaf-toed gecko, and the Allison's anole.

Environmental protection

The reef has only partial environmental protection. The Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye have been designated as Natural Monuments and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1996. The protected areas are and in size respectively. Additionally, 3 more areas are National Protected Areas: Northern Two Cayes, Sandbore, and South Point. Despite the protection, the atoll suffers from human impact in the form of uncontrolled fishing and tourism.