#6166 Palmetto Caye, Belize Islands.

Posted on 2010-05-14 by gbudaker in Islands / Cayes Island

Palmetto Caye is a 42+ acre mixed mangrove and coral based island located 4.5 miles south of the popular and quaint tourist destination of Placencia Village in the Stann Creek District which places it approximately 36.5 miles south of Dangriga and 73 miles south of Belize City.

The island has been surveyed into four parcels (10+ acres each). The windward side of the island is relatively shallow with the development of a number of nearshore patch reefs. The nearshore waters off the leeward side of the Caye have a depth usually within 2M whereas the more distal areas ranges from 2 to 3M. The southern portion of the island is located on the highest ground.

The entire property encompasses a semi-developed beach and berm, as well as a ridge colonized by a tropical littoral forest, and lowland mangroves. The littoral forest and the beach environment comprises of 15.97 acres while the red, black and dwarf mangroves 19.32 acres, and the Grass Savannah area 6.62 acres of the property

The only access presently to the island is by boat. The nearest airstrips are the Placencia and Forest Home Airstrips, which are located within a radius of approximately 5 miles to the island. The Big Creek Port lies 3.5 miles to the north of the island while Monkey River Village 5 miles to the southwest. The closest marine reserve is the Port Honduras Marine Reserve which is 6 miles to the south of the island. There are also other marine reserves as well as upland or terrestrial protected area in the wider region of the island. These include the Laughing Bird Caye National Park and the Cockscomb Basin National Park.