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Glover's Reef (16N44, 87W48) is the southernmost of the three atolls. off the coast of Belize. It is located of the three atolls. off the coast of Belize. It is located about 74 km southeast of Belize City and 45 km east of the mainland and about 25 km east of the barrier reef. The structure of the Belize coast is formed by a series of northeast southwest fault blocks forming submarine escarpments. Glover Reef lies among the various islands which are formed by Belize's coastal Barrier Reef and is one of only three coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere. The reefs is about 15 miles from north to south, and about 6 miles wide. The only inhabited settlement, Glover Reef Village stands on Long Cay. The South West Cay is the most prominent islet on the reef, a light is standing on the most southern point.

The four major cays are North Light Cay with a small light, marking the north entrance, Long and Northeast Cays, both inhabited and Middle and Southwest Cays. On South Rock, a coralhead, 15 ft high, stands a light, build in 1902. Glovers Reef, Lighthouse Reef and the barrier reef south of Gladden Spit lie on one fault block.

The Glovers Reef atoll has probably been in existence for about 7 million years, though it has been higher or submerged at various times as a consequence of fluctuating sea levels. Glovers Reef is an elongate rectangular atoll about 32 km long and 12 km wide with an area of 260 sq. km. It is surrounded by reef that is about 400- 700 m wide with the windward side better developed than the leeward side. There are three main channels in the atoll: one in the northeast, another in the south and another at Northeast Cay. All are on the windward side and are believed to have formed from erosion when sea levels were lower. The reef can be divided into two distinct regions: the outer shelf which is about 6-8 m deep and 1-2 km wide and the inner basin. The outer shelf is an ancient wave cut reef from the late interglacial period, i.e. the sea level at that time cut the shelf into the limestone. As the sea level has risen, the corals have continued to build and colonize upward. The overall physiography of the atoll is thought to have developed by the formation of a karst topography on the main limestone block. This also explains the sinkhole or blue hole on lighthouse reef. Geological test wells drilled in the reef have reached metamorphic rock at between 777 and 959 m. This base rock is overlain by about 250 m of calcareous siltstone of Late Cretaceous age (100 million years ago) and 560 m of Tertiary (64 million years ago- present) reef accumulation. Stoddart (1962) classified the reefs of Glovers Reef atoll into four groups:

1. The northern reef (with a reef flat about 500 m wide)
2. The eastern reef, stretching from Northern Entrance to Northeast Cay (with a reef flat 500-1400 m wide).
3. The southeast reef, from Long Cay to Southwest Cays (with reef flat only 200-500 m wide).
4. The leeward reefs (with a reef flat 400-500 m wide).

On the seaward side of the peripheral reef, the fore-reef slopes gradually to the drop-off. The fore-reef is about 400 m to 1.5 km wide and the edge of the drop-off lies at a depth of 15-25 m. There is a system of spurs and grooves that run perpendicularly to the fore-reef on the windward north and east sides of the atoll. The drop-off steeply or vertically slopes to a depth of about 1000 m on the windward and 500 m on the leeward side of the atoll. In some areas there are a series of ledges or terraces that occur at various depths below the drop-off. Behind the peripheral reef, the lagoon basin or reef flat varies from .5 to 15 m and consists of loose forminiferal, algal and coral sand. The lagoon basin contains at least 700 patch reefs. Species lists of coral and marine benthic plants are available form the field station manager upon request. The annual rainfall is approximately 28 cm. The dry season is from February to May. Northern cold fronts, known as northers, pass through frequently in November through February. The temperatures cool and can drop into the teens C. Mean temperatures in the summer are about 75 F (24 C). Mean surface water temperature fluctuates from 78 F (26 C) in February to 86 F (30 C). The two months with the highest winds are during March and April. The summer is calm with numerous squalls. Hurricane season is from June until November. (The mosquitos and sandflies are quite bad on the island between August and November.) Glovers Reef has six islands including Northeast Cay, Long Cay North, Long Cay, Middle Cay, Usher Cay and Southwest Cay. All the islands are located on the southeastern side of the atoll. The cays are composed mainly of coral rubble formed by wave action. Middle Cay is situated near the center of the southeast reef tract of Glovers Reef. It has an area of about 6 ha. The windward side is composed of reef rubble and there is a small brackish freshwater pond in the interior. The islands of Glover's Reef Atoll have probably served as preclassic Mayan settlements (there was one discovered on Long Cay). Pottery and shards are often found on Middle Cay and there are several examples on the table in the visitors center. Glovers Reef is situated on the precolumbian trade route between Honduras and the Yucatan, so Glovers has probably been a very important waypoint. To this day, Hondurian fishermen visit the reef using small dories (dugout canoes).

The reef was discovered in 1512 by the Spain DaSilva and named Arecife Sr´tadeno Ylbob. He landed on Long Cay,and named it Isla de Ibazo. The reef first appeared on maps dated from 1601-1615 and was referred to as Ylbob. The name Glover was derived from the name of pirate, John Glover, who used the reef as his base. The name Glovers Reef first appeared on Admiralty charts in 1797. Glovers Reef is mentioned in Charles Darwin's Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs (1842).

The Reef has also been well noted for its numerous shipwrecks including:

1. The Monmouth, an English merchantman wrecked on its way to London in 1751.
2. The Argyle and Polly, an English merchantman and American ship, both sank in 1774.
3. An unidentified Scottish ship in 1786.
4. The Chance, an English merchantman, sank in 1793 coming from Jamaica.
5. The General Don, an English ship en route from France, sank in 1808.
6. The schooner Susan, in 1858, was wrecked and the crew rescued and taken to Middle Cay where they remained for six months.

There have been several other more recent shipwrecks. Pieces of European pottery and porcelain are commonly found on Middle Cay, possibly the remains of shipwrecked crews and their cargo.