Geography and Geology
Nim Li Punit is situated in the foothills of the Maya Mountains with proximity to clear mountain streams. The Maya Mountains form a difficultly penetrated backdrop forest to the north and east, while the expansive somewhat swampy coastal lowlands adjoing the Caribbean Sea lie to the east Low lying swampland between the Sarstoon and Temash Rivers is situated to the south.. The site is within two kilometres of Belize's Southern Highway, accessed by an unpaved road. (The Southern Highway itself is unpaved in the vicinity of the site as well.) Area soils are relatively fertile for tropical standards, and explain the region's ability to support sizeable prehistoric settlements such as Nim Li Punit. Local sandstones are found in nearby stream and river beds, and these materials were used as the principal building stones for the site's structures and stelae. The Maya Mountains and foothills are among the oldest surface rock formations of Central America ; these Paleozoic sediments were uplifted about 200 million years ago in the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and early Permian periods.
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