Image: Minister of National Security Hon. John Saldivar, Minister of State For The Public Service Frank Mena, and Minister of
Education Patrick Faber at the Gracias a Dios Falls boundary marker with Guatemala in south Belize, some 25 miles upstream the Sartoon River, 9 December 2015
Boundary Treaty Between The Republic of Guatemala and Great Britain Signed in Guatemala City on 30 April 1859.
Art. 1. It is agreed between Her Britannic Majesty and the Republic of Guatemala that the boundary between the Republic and the British Settlement and Possessions in the Bay of Honduras, as they existed previous to and on the 1st day of January
1850, and have continued to exist up to the present time, was and is as follows:
Beginning at the mouth of the river Sarstoon (Sarstún) in the Bay of Honduras, and proceeding up the midchannel thereof to Gracias á Dios Falls; then turning to the right and continuing by a line drawn direct from Gracias á Dios Falls to Garbutt's
Falls on the river Belize, and from Garbutt's Falls due north until it strikes the Mexican frontier.
It is agreed and declared between the High Contracting Parties that all the territory to the north and east of the line of boundary above described, belongs to Her Britannic Majesty; and that all the territory to the south and west of the same belongs to the Republic of Guatemala.
Art. 6. It is further agreed that the channels in the waterline of the boundary described in Article 1 of the present Convention shall be equally free and open to the vessels and boats of both parties; and that any island s which may be found therein shall belong to the party on whose side of the main navigable channel they are situated.
A joint commission met in 1861 and demarcated the southern sector. Terminal pillars were placed at Gracias á Dios Falls and Garbutt's Falls with 29 additional pyramids along the intervening line.