The Rio Hondo is a river of Central America, approximately 150 km in length, which flows in a northeasterly direction to discharge into Chetumal Bay on the Caribbean Sea. Most of the international border between the nations of Mexico and Belize runs along its length. The Murray River in Australia. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

The river is formed from the confluences of several upper tributaries, such as the Río Azul (later Blue Creek in Belize) and Chanchich (Rio Bravo) which have their sources in Guatemala's el Petén region, and Booth's River which originates in the western Belizean district of Orange Walk. These tributaries join to form the Rio Hondo near the settlements of Blue Creek Village, on the Belizean side, and La Unión on the Mexican side. The river continues its northeastern course with few other settlements along its length until reaching its outlet in Chetumal Bay. The city of Chetumal, capital of Mexico's Quintana Roo state and the major port of the region, lies close to this outlet. El Petén El Petén is a department of the nation of Guatemala. ... Orange Walk District is a district in the north west of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town. ... Chetumal (coordinates: 18. ... Other Mexican States Capital Chetumal Other major cities Cancún Cozumel list of municipalities Area 50,212 km² Ranked 19th Population (2000 census) 873,800 Ranked 29th Governor of Quintana Roo (2005-2011) Félix González Cantú (PRI) Federal Deputies (2) PRI = 2 Federal Senators PRI = 2 PAN = 1... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ...

Several archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization are located near the river's path. An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... The Maya civilization is a historical Mesoamerican civilization, which extended throughout the northern Central American region which includes the present-day states of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and parts of El Salvador, as well as the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and the entirety of the Yucatán peninsula. ...

The river is mentioned in a stanza of Belize's national anthem, Land of the Free: A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a countrys government as their states official national song. ... This article is about the national anthem of Belize. ...

...

Our fathers, the Baymen, valiant and bold

Drove back the invader; this heritage hold

From proud Rio Hondo to old Sarstoon,

Through coral isle, over blue lagoon;

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External links

map showing location