evidence: As a result, water depths exceeding 2,000 m extend deeply into the Gulf of Honduras. The 1,000 m isobath parallels the Belize barrier reef for 50 km starting less than 3 km seaward of the reef crest at Gladden Spit and extending towards the southwest. At the Sapodilla Cays in the southern extreme of the barrier reef, the 200 m isobath continues 40 km south towards the Central American land mass. The northwestern edge of the trench in Belize exhibits an extremely steep wall adjacent to the reef and coastal lagoon, while the southeastern edge of the trench rises more gently but without interruption such that the Honduran coast is oceanic to the shore (Fig. 1.1).