Cayo is a district located in the west part of

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern 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 maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, and it contains the capital,

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas (by population) and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Fou ...

. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of Belize. The district's capital is the town of

San Ignacio San Ignacio (the Spanish language name of St. Ignatius (disambiguation), St. Ignatius) is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken: Argentina * San Ignacio, Argentina, Misiones Province * San Ignacio Miní, a ...

Geography

Being the largest district, it borders

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

to the west,

Orange Walk district Orange Walk is a Districts of Belize, district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town. Demographics Main settlements The Orange Walk District, with an area of 1,829 square miles (4,636 square km), ...

to the north,

district to the northeast,

Stann Creek district Stann Creek is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2022 census, the district had a population of 48,162 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "stanns," or s ...

to the southeast and Toledo district to the south. The nation's capital,

, is located within the district. Other important towns and cities in the district include Benque Viejo del Carmen, twin towns of

and Santa Elena (District's Capital), Seven Miles (El Progreso),

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Valley of Peace, St. Margaret, Roaring Creek,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, San Jose Succotz, Arenal, Buena Vista,

Bullet Tree Falls Bullet Tree Falls is a village located along the Mopan River in Cayo District, Belize. It lies approximately five kilometers (three miles) northwest of San Ignacio, Belize, San Ignacio. According to the 2010 census, Bullet Tree Falls has a populati ...

, Calla Creek, Esperanza, Cristo Rey, Georgeville, Unitedville, Blackman Eddy,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Camalote, Los Tambos, More Tomorrow and Spanish Lookout. Major rivers in the district include the Macal River and the

Mopan River The Mopan River is a river in Central America spanning the Petén Department of Guatemala and the Cayo District of Belize. It merges with the Macal River at Branch Mouth, Belize, forming the Belize River, which ultimately discharges into the Car ...

Boundaries

In 1960, the boundaries of the Cayo District were defined as follows: As of 2020, these are still the boundaries used for the District.

Economy and infrastructure

Cayo District is primarily an agricultural district, with the chief crops being

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

fruit (more specifically, oranges,

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

, and

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

), as well as

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...

. Recently, oil was found in Spanish Lookout and it is now in production. There are two major highways in the District, the

George Price Highway The George Price Highway is one of four main highways in Belize. It originates in Belize City, runs west through Hattieville, the Belize Zoo, the capital city of Belmopan (northern outskirts), San Ignacio, San José Succotz (across the river ...

, that runs from

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

to the

n border, and the

Hummingbird Highway The Hummingbird Highway is one of the four major highways in Belize. It connects the George Price Highway outside of Belmopan, Cayo District to the Southern Highway outside of Dangriga, Stann Creek District. It partially follows, and sometimes us ...

which starts in Belmopan and ends at the juncture of the Coastal Road and the Southern Highway that ends in the

Stann Creek District Stann Creek is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2022 census, the district had a population of 48,162 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "stanns," or s ...

. In addition to the ruins listed above there are several other important

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s including two National Parks,

Blue Hole A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock (limestone or coral reef). Blue holes typically contain tidally influenced water of fresh, ma ...

and Guanacaste National Park.

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

is also an integral part of the region's economy.

Political divisions

Politically, Cayo is divided into six

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

, described in detail here: *

: Current representative John Saldivar (UDP) * Cayo Central: Current representative Rene Montero (UDP) * Cayo North: Current representative Omar Figueroa (UDP) * Cayo North East: Current representative Orlando Habet (PUP) * Cayo South: Current representative Julius Espat (PUP) * Cayo West: Current representative Erwin Contreras (UDP)

Archaeological sites

Cayo District contains several pre-Columbian mayan ruins and sites, among these are Caracol,

Xunantunich Xunantunich () is an Ancient Maya archaeological site in western Belize, about 70 miles (110 km) west of Belize City, in the Cayo District. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, well within sight of the Guatemala border – w ...

Cahal Pech Cahal Pech is a Maya site located near the town of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. The site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family, and though the most major construction dates to the Classic period, evidence of continu ...

, Baking Pot, Lower Dover and

El Pilar El Pilar is an ancient Maya city center located on the Belize-Guatemala border. The site is located north of San Ignacio, Belize and can be accessed through the San Ignacio and Bullet Tree Falls on the Belize River. The name "El Pilar" is Spa ...

Demographics

According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, Cayo District's total population is of 73,202 residents (compared to the district's 2000 population of 53,715); of whom 36,803 are males and 36,399 are females. The total number of households is 15,497 and the average household size is 4.7. The southern half of Cayo District is very low densely populated. A large majority of the district's population lives north of the 17th parallel.

Ethnicity

Rural and urban development

In 2010, the total population of Cayo's urban areas was of 36,455; 17,939 males and 18,516 females. 7,468 total households and a 4.9 average household size. The total population of Cayo's rural areas was of 36,747; 18,864 males and 17,883 females. 8,029 total households and a 4.6 average household size.

References

External links

Map

Cayo South

GoToCayoBelize.com
{{Authority control Districts of Belize