Lake · Belize
New River Lagoon
The New River Lagoon is a long, narrow lake in the north of Belize. Although it is called a lagoon, it is the largest body of fresh water in the country.
Where is New River Lagoon?
Countries on its shores: Belize.
Largest lake of: Belize.
Middle of the lake: 17.67° N, 88.65° W
The story behind it
The New River Lagoon is about 23 km long but only about 750 metres wide, so it looks almost like a wide river. It covers about 13.5 km², which makes it the largest lake in Belize. It is connected to the New River, which flows north and finally empties into Chetumal Bay. On its shore stand the temples of Lamanai, an old Maya city. People lived there for about 3 000 years. The name Lamanai means «submerged crocodile» in the Maya language. That fits well, because Morelet's crocodiles live in the New River, together with fish, turtles and many birds. Today visitors often reach Lamanai by boat from Orange Walk Town along the river.
Find it on the globe
New River Lagoon is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is the New River Lagoon?
It covers about 13.5 km² and is about 23 km long. But it is only about 750 metres wide.
Is it really a lagoon?
Not really. It has fresh water and is the largest lake in Belize, even though its name says lagoon.
What does the name Lamanai mean?
Lamanai is the old Maya city on the shore of the lagoon. Its name means «submerged crocodile» in the Maya language.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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