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Photo: CadabraPuppet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.How well do you know one of the newest capital cities in the Americas? Test your knowledge on Belmopan's history, geography, and local culture!
Garden City Visitor 0–4 · Belmopan Explorer 5–8 · True Belmopaneer 9–10
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In 1961, Hurricane Hattie struck Belize City, the former capital, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life. Because Belize City was at sea level and highly vulnerable to coastal surges, the government decided to build a safer, inland capital. Belmopan was officially founded in 1970. An interesting detail is that the new location was chosen to be near the geographic center of the country, ensuring better protection from future tropical storms.
Photo: United States Navy, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The capital's name is a blend of 'Belize', after the country's longest river, and 'Mopan', a river in the area that flows into the Belize River. The Mopan River shares its name with the Mopan Maya, one of the Maya peoples native to the region. Today, Belmopan is a melting pot of cultures, including Maya, Garifuna, Mestizo and Creole communities.
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St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park is located just off the Hummingbird Highway south of Belmopan. It features a natural turquoise swimming pool fed by an underground river, as well as several spectacular limestone caves.
Photo: Bennyteee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The Belize Zoo was founded in 1983 to give a home to the tame wild animals left over after a nature documentary was filmed. It lies about 30 kilometres east of Belmopan and keeps only animals native to Belize, in spacious, natural enclosures. The Community Baboon Sanctuary is another famous conservation project, but it lies further north and protects black howler monkeys.
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The striking design of the National Assembly Building of Belize is modeled after a traditional Maya temple. It was built during the founding of the city to pay homage to the deep pre-Columbian heritage of the nation.
Photo: Haakon S. Krohn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Belmopan is situated within the Cayo District, which is known for its lush hills, agricultural lands, and archaeological sites. Despite being the national capital, it is not the capital of the district itself; that honor belongs to San Ignacio.
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With only about 20,000 people, Belmopan is the smallest capital city by population on the American mainland. Its government buildings are grouped around a ring road just under 4 kilometres long, with lots of parkland inside the circle.
Photo: CadabraPuppet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Belmopan lies close to the Belize River, which winds all the way to the Caribbean Sea. For centuries the river was the main highway for floating mahogany logs from the interior to the coast, and today its fertile valley grows food for the capital and nearby villages.
Photo: Nick Taylor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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Established in 1990, Guanacaste National Park is a small but lush protected area located right at the edge of Belmopan. It is named after a massive, historic Guanacaste tree that survived decades of logging and agricultural clearing in the area.
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The University of Belize, established in 2000, has its main administrative offices and largest campus in Belmopan. This institution was created by merging several older colleges to provide higher education across the nation.
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