Hattie destroyed an estimated 40 % of all buildings in Belize, and damaged half of those that remained ; Belize City was damaged so heavily that the national government was relocated inland to Belmopan.

Within the zoning regulations, Belmopan has set aside approximately of land made up mostly of one-acre ( 4, 000 m² ) parcels in city limits.

Belmopan is located at, at an altitude of 76 metres ( 250 ft ) above sea level.

The name chosen for the new capital, Belmopan, is derived from the union of two words: " Belize ", the name of the longest river in the country, and " Mopan ," one of the rivers in this area, which empties into the Belize River.

Belmopan is inland from the Caribbean and 76 meters ( 250 ft ) above sea level, located near the Belize River Valley with a view of the Mountain Pine Ridge foothills.

Two and a half hours south of Belmopan, by road, is the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.

The church / state system prevails in Belizean education, especially where pre-school, primary and secondary school education is concerned, and nearly all schools in Belmopan are sustained by churches.

Belmopan proper is a mix of ethnicities including Kriols, Garifuna, Mestizo, Maya and more historically recent immigrants from Asian countries such as the People's Republic of China and Republic of China.

Following the UDP's municipal victory of 2006, the mayor of Belmopan is Simeon López.

As Belmopan is the seat of government, many of its inhabitants work for the national government in administrative or technical roles.

The Dominican Republic is represented in Belize through a non-resident ambassador in Santo Domingo and an honorary consulate in Belmopan.

James Bus Line is based in Punta Gorda and offers a regular service to points north such as Independence, Dangriga, Belmopan, and Belize City.

The district is served by the Hummingbird Highway and the Southern Highway, connecting to Belize City by way of the Western Highway at Belmopan.

The nation's capital, Belmopan, is in the district.

San Ignacio is situated on the banks of the Macal and Mopan Rivers, about 68. 5 miles ( 115 kilometres ) west of Belize City and 22 miles ( 35 km ) west of the country's capital, Belmopan.

The only road Caracol may be accessed by is paved for the last ten miles and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena.

St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park is a national park located just off the Hummingbird Highway in Cayo District of Belize, near Belmopan, the capital city.

Roaring Creek is a small village in the Cayo District of Belize, just north-west of Belmopan.

Albaina is a small village south of Belmopan on the Hummingbird Highway in the Cayo District of Belize.

After the hurricane, the capital moves to the inland city of Belmopan.

Belmopan was constructed just to the east of the Belize River, inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by Hurricane Hattie in 1961.

In 1962, a committee chose the site now known as Belmopan, west of the old capital of Belize City.

There was a reluctance initially amongst foreign governments to relocate their embassies to Belmopan as there was some doubt as to whether this inland area would really become the functioning capital.

In February 2005, the United States government broke ground and started building a new embassy in Belmopan, 43 years after it was chosen as the new capital city.

It was the capital of British Honduras ( as Belize was then named ) until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.

* Belmopan: Containing the capital and surrounding suburbs ; newly created.

Several of the world's capital cities are planned cities, including Washington, D. C., in the United States, Canberra in Australia, Brasília in Brazil, Belmopan in Belize, New Delhi in India, Abuja in Nigeria, Astana in Kazakhstan, Naypyidaw in Burma, and Islamabad in Pakistan.

It originates in Belize City, runs west through Hattieville, Belize Zoo, the capital city of Belmopan ( northern outskirts ), San Ignacio Cayo, San José Succotz ( across the river from Xunantunich archaeological site ) and terminates at the Guatemalan border at Benque Viejo.

For this reason, Belize's capital has been moved to Belmopan, but Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport remains the largest and busiest in the country.

Hurricane Hattie devastated Belize, killing 200 ; Belize City was largely destroyed, leading to the eventual ( 1970 ) relocation of the national capital to Belmopan.

Hattie damaged Belize City badly enough to force the government to relocate to a new capital further inland: its present location in Belmopan.

Civil unrest broke out in the capital city of Belmopan in Belize during mid-January 2005.

Residents of Belmopan voted in a referendum in 1999 to switch to direct election of a city council.

In 2000, Belmopan was incorporated as a city and held its first City Council election.

In 1999, residents of Belmopan held a referendum to determine whether they would be responsible for their own affairs as a city ; a majority voted yes, and Belmopan held its first City Council election less than a year later.

The City of Belmopan has three pre-schools, four primary schools and four secondary schools as well as a modern Regional Language Centre ( RLC ) on the central campus of the University of Belize, where students from neighbouring Spanish-speaking countries come to study English.

In the larger towns and cities, such as Belize City or Belmopan, there are bus terminals.

The United Kingdom has a High Commission in Belmopan, whilst Belize also has one in London.

The Western Highway runs from Belize City to the Guatemalan border, and the Hummingbird Highway which starts in Belmopan and ends at the juncture of the Coastal Road and the Southern Highway in the Stann Creek District.

On 7 December 2010, the first hickatee conservation forum and workshop was held at the University of Belize, Belmopan campus presented by the Turtle Survival Alliance ( TSA ), in collaboration with the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education ( BFREE ), the Environmental Research Institute at UB and the Belize Fisheries Department.

* Armenia, Belize, located south of Belmopan in the country's Cayo District

Some projects completed in the past century with the help of the Fund were The Baron Bliss Institute and Promenade, The Bliss School of Nursing, Belize City Water Supply System, Intransit Lounge at Belize International Airport, the Corozal Town Hall and the purchase of land for the building of Belmopan.