Chiquibul National Park

Establishment of the park

Chiquibul National Park was originally part of Chiquibul Forest Reserve, which was designated in 1956. In 1991, due to lobbying from conservationists, the three-quarters of the forest reserve that did not have active logging concessions was re-designated as a national park under Belize's National Parks System Act. The park's borders were re-defined in 1995. Caracol became surrounded by the national park.

Geology and geography

The western side of the park lies along Belize's border with Guatemala. The park lies west of the Maya Mountains. the longest known cave system in Central America. The cave system is made up of caves linked by water flows, including the Chiquibul River. The Chiquibul River flows through Belize, goes underground into the cave system, and resurfaces in Guatemala. The cave system includes the largest known underground passages and cave chamber discovered in the Western Hemisphere.

Flora and fauna

The forest has been mostly unbroken since the Maya left it centuries ago. The biological diversity of the park has not yet been fully explored. In 1993, a botanist from Missouri Botanical Garden collected more than 130 plant species previously unreported in Belize. Three of these species had never before been reported in Central America.

References

References

1. 0-691-12219-9.
2. (November 2016)
3. [http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/parkchiquibul.html Chiquibul National Park and Caracol], Belize National Parks, Natural Reserves, & Wildlife Sanctuaries.
4. Day, Michael. (August 1996). "Conservation of karst in Belize". Journal of Cave and Karst Studies.
5. Kueny, Jeffrey A.. (December 2002). "Designation of protected karstlands in Central America: a regional assessment". Journal of Cave and Karst Studies.
6. 0-292-71318-5.