Sarstoon River
The Sarstoon River (Spanish: Río Sarstún) is a Guatemalan river that borders the Toledo District of Belize. It forms the country's southern boundary with Guatemala.
| Sarstoon River (Río Sarstún) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Belize |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| ⁃ location | Guatemala |
| Mouth | |
⁃ location | Caribbean Sea |
⁃ coordinates | 15.8976°N 88.9137°W |
⁃ elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 111 km |
The river's sources are in neighbouring Guatemala. It flows through the Guatemalan departments of Alta Verapaz and Izabal into Belize and through Toledo to the Caribbean Sea.
The Sarstoon is the internationally accepted southern border between Belize and Guatemala, although as part of the Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute since 1999 Guatemala has claimed Belizean territory south of the Sibun River.[1]
On 15 April 2019, the river was the site of a border incident between Guatemala and Belize, when three Guatemalan gun-boats manned by armed soldiers prevented the Belizean coast guard from patrolling the river.[2]
See also
References
- Lauterpacht, Elihu; Stephen Schwebel; Shabtai Rosenne; Francisco Orrego Vicuña (November 2001). "Legal Opinion on Guatemala's Territorial Claim to Belize" (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- "Guatemalan navy gunboats block Belize Coast Guard from accessing the Sarstoon river". Retrieved 16 April 2019.