Gulf of Honduras

The Gulf of Honduras, also called the Bay of Honduras, is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south it runs from Cape Catoche to Caxinas Point. The inner Gulf of Honduras is lined by the Belize Barrier Reef which forms the southern part of the 900 km (600 mile) long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest coral reef system in the world. The Belize Barrier Reef includes the Pelican Cays. The Gulf of Honduras is marked by complex dynamics of coastal and open waters, and ocean currents, which have produced a very diverse and unique ecosystem with a wide variety of coastal marine waters, including coastline estuaries, barrier beaches, lagoons, intertidal salt marshes, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, keys and barrier reefs. The gulf receives the runoff from the watersheds of 12 rivers with an estimated discharge of 1,232,000 litres (approx. 300, 000 gallons) per second. Tourists are often taken on boat trips to the Pelican Cays, notably Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye. In 1961 Hurricane Hattie swept across the Gulf of Honduras, destroying buildings in Belize. The infamous pirate Blackbeard spent the winter of 1717–18 harassing shipping boats sailing to and from the port of Vera Cruz, Mexico and traversing the Bay of Honduras. In April 1718, at Turneffe Atoll, Blackbeard captured the logwood cuttin

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