Belmopan is located in Cayo District at an altitude of  above sea level. Belmopan was constructed just to the east of the Belize River,  inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The government was moved to Belmopan in 1970. Its National Assembly Building is designed to resemble a Pre-Columbian Maya temple.