Belmopan is located at 17° 15' N, 88° 46' W, at an altitude of 5 meters above sea level. Belmopan was constructed on the Belize River, 50 miles inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by a hurricane in 1961. The government was moved to Belmopan in 1970. The National Assembly Building is designed to resemble a Pre-Columbian Maya temple.