Monkey River Town (or Monkey River) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the north of the

Toledo District Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda is the District capital. It is the second most developed region in the country (according to the Human Development Index (HDI)). The district has a diverse topography whic ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

. It is on the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...

on the southern shore of the mouth of Belize's

Monkey River Monkey River is a coastal watercourse in southern Belize that rises in the Maya Mountains and discharges to the Caribbean Sea near Monkey River Town. One of Belize's major rivers, Monkey River has northern headwaters which originate in the Cock ...

. In 2011 the estimated population was 200 people. The village is one of the last purely Creole settlements in Belize, and many traditional practises are still carried out, such as cooking over the "fyah haat" (fire hearth). A road was built in the late 80's from the Southern Highway through orange groves and jungle to the village car park, and links the village to the outside world, although much travel is still by sea. The main occupations are

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

. There are two small hotels and a nearby fishing resort which can be reached by a five-minute sea trip. Guides can be easily found at Monkey River village to take visitors up the river to see the

howler monkeys Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atele ...

and other wildlife in Belize.

History

The village was incorporated as a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in 1891 at which time it had a population of some 2500 people, mostly engaged in the

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

industry. With the decline of these industries and a blight of banana trees in this area, in the second half of the 20th century, the population declined, and in 1981 was legally reclassified as a village again, although retaining the historic name of "Town". On October 9, 2001,

Hurricane Iris Hurricane Iris was a small, but powerful Category 4 hurricane that caused widespread destruction in Belize. Iris was the second-strongest storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, behind Hurricane Michelle. It was the ninth named storm, fif ...

made landfall at Monkey River Town as a 145 mph Category Four storm. The storm demolished most of the homes in the village, and destroyed the banana crop. The area's formerly large population of black

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atele ...

s was similarly greatly reduced, but has come back strongly and several troupes are to be seen along the river, a popular eco tourist attraction. Researchers from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

led by Dr. Mary Pavelka study the monkey population year round. Erosion of the southern foreshore (the intertidal zone), where the village is located, has been an important issue over recent years; this has been halted by a recent government project which installed a botan sea defence (a

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

). Further work will be carried out as finances permit. The northern foreshore is relatively unaffected.

References

{{Reflist Belizean Creole people Populated places in Toledo District Toledo East Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in the British Empire