Belize District
The Belize District is a district of the nation of Belize, with its district capital being the nation's
largest city, Belize City
Settlements
San Pedro Town,
which is situated on the island of Ambergris Caye, is also in the Belize District.
Caye Caulker and St. George's Caye
are the island villages in this district. Maskall, Bomba, Corozalito, Santana,
Lucky Strike, Rockstone Pond, Boston, Crooked Tree, Biscayne, May Pen, Gardenia,
Grace Bank, Sand Hill, Lord's Bank, Ladyville, Burrel Boom, Buttercup, Scotland Halfmoon,
Flowers Bank, Bermudian Landing, Isabella Bank, Double Head Cabbage, Willows
Bank, Saint Paul's Bank, Big Falls, Rancho Dolores, Hattieville, Freetown Sibun, Gracie Rock, La
Democracia, and Gales
Point are all mainland villages in the Belize District. The Crooked Tree and
Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuaries, the Belize Zoo (30 miles west of Belize City),
as well as the ancient Maya ruins of Altun Ha are all in this district.
History
The Belize District was the area first settled by Europeans. They developed
estates along the rivers and creeks; because these waterways were their
transportation highways. Many of the estates were referred to as the owner's
'bank'(as in the banks of a river). Therefore, Mr. Lord's estate on the bank of
the Belize River became Lord's Bank and Mr. Flowers' home place on this same
river became Flowers Bank. Many of these old estates have grown into villages;
while other places on our map such as Baker,
Bob Eiley,
Bocotora,
Butcher
Burns, Lime Walk,
More
Force, Nago Bank,
Washing
Tree, Cedar
Bank, Churchyard,
Eygpt,
Watters
Bank, and White
Hill are old estates which did not become villages. Some places like Davis
Bank and Tropical
Park have now become parts of larger communities.
Geography
Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the
Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Ambergris Caye,Caye Caulker, St. George's
Caye, Caye Chapel, English
Caye and Goff's Caye.
Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker are considered two of the country's primary
tourism areas. The longest river in the country, the Belize River, passes
through the district and joins the Caribbean Sea along its coast. The Northern
River, Sibun River, and Manatee River are also in this District.
Population
The 2005 mid-year population estimate of the Belize District was 87,000 with
an estimated 69,200 of these living in the two urban areas. Belize City is by far the larger
of the two with an estimated population of 60,800. San Pedro Town has a population of about 8,900.
The population of all the villages and outlying communities combined is about
17,800 persons.
Political divisions
Politically, Belize District contains 13 Constituencies according to the Elections and Boundaries
Department. 10 of these are in Belize City proper; the remainder are
classified as rural.
Belize City Constituencies
The 10 Constituencies that fall within the city limits of Belize are: Albert, Caribbean
Shores, Collet, Fort George, Freetown, Lake Independence, Mesopotamia,
Pickstock, Port Loyola, and Queen's Square.
Belize Rural North
Belize Rural North contains the northern half of mainland Belize
District, including Maskall, Lucky Strike and villages in the Belize River
Valley and along the Northern Highway, except for Ladyville and Lord's Bank. Its
current representative is Edmond Castro of the United Democratic Party.
Belize Rural Central
Belize Rural Central is limited to the southern half of mainland
Belize District and containing the important villages of Ladyville, Lord's Bank, Hattieville and Gales Point,
Bermudian Landing, Burrel Boom Village. As of 2008, the UDP's Michael Hutchinson
is area representative following his defeat of PUP veteran Ralph Fonseca.
Belize Rural South
Belize Rural South contains the offshore islands of the Belize
District. The larger islands are Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel, St.
George's Caye, and the Turneffe Islands. Its main town is San Pedro on Ambergris
Caye. The current representative is the UDP's Manuel Heredia; the PUP standard
bearer is Merlene Spain.
[Taken from : http://en.wikipedia.org ]
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