Cayo District

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Cayo District
— District —
Location of the district in Belize
Country	Belize
Capital	San Ignacio
Population (2009)^[1]
• Total	80,800
Website	www.gotocayobelize.com

Cayo District is a district in the west of the nation of Belize. The District capital is the town of San Ignacio.

1 Geography
2 Importance and Location
3 Political Divisions
4 Archaeological sites
5 Population and Housing
6 Rural and Urban Development
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Geography [link]

The Cayo District is the largest district in Belize. It is located on the western side of the country which borders Guatemala. The nation's capital, Belmopan, is geographically located within the district. Also in the Cayo district are the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. The twin towns are surrounded by rural villages such as Seven Miles (El Progresso), San Antonio, Valley of Peace, St. Margaret's, Roaring Creek, Armenia, San Jose Succotz, Arenal, Buena Vista, Calla Creek, Esperanza, Cristo Rey, Georgeville, Unitedville, Blackman Eddy, Ontario, Camalote, Los Tambos, More Tomorrow and Spanish Lookout.

The Cayo district also contains the Pre-Columbian Maya ruins of Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, Chaa Creek, and Caracol. Major rivers in the Cayo District include the Macal River and the Mopan River.

Importance and Location [link]

The Cayo District is primarily an agricultural district, with the chief crops being citrus, (oranges, grapefruit, and tangerine), as well as bananas. Recently oil was found in Spanish Lookout and is now in production. There are 2 major highways in the District. 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. In addition to the ruins listed above there are several other important nature reserves including two National Parks, Blue Hole (park) and Guanacaste National Park. Ecotourism is also an integral part of the region's economy.

According to the 2000 census, Cayo District had a population of 53,715 people.

Political Divisions [link]

Politically, Cayo is divided into six constituencies, described in detail here:

Belmopan City: Containing the capital and surrounding suburbs; newly created. John Saldivar (UDP) is the sitting representative.
Cayo Northeast: Another new constituency centered on Spanish Lookout. The UDP's Elvin Penner is the sitting representative.
Cayo North: Current representative Joseph Mahmud (PUP).
Cayo Central: Current representative Rene Montero (UDP).
Cayo West: The UDP's Erwin Contreras, former footballer, is the standing rep for this seat.
Cayo South: Currently held by Julius Espat of the PUP.

Archaeological sites [link]

A number of important Mayan archaeological sites lie within the Cayo District. Among these are Xunantunich, Chaa Creek^[2] and Cahal Pech.^[3]

Population and Housing [link]

2010 Population and Housing Census has Cayo district's total population as 73,202 residents,of this 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.

Rural and Urban Development [link]

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