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The Amazon Reef (also referred to as the Amazonian Reef) is an extensive coral and sponge reef system, located off the coast of French Guiana and northern Brazil. It is one of the largest reef systems in the world known to exist, with scientists estimating its length to be over 600 miles (970 km) long, and covering over 3,600 square miles ...
Locations of coral reefs Boundary for 20 °C isotherms. Most corals live within this boundary. Note the cooler waters caused by upwelling on the southwest coast of Africa and off the coast of Peru. This map shows areas of upwelling in red. Coral reefs are not found in coastal areas where colder and nutrient-rich upwellings occur.
Three-dimensional map of southern Florida showing the Florida Reef in red. The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. [1]
While it covers only 1.6% of the planet's oceanic area, the region has 76% of all known coral species in the world. As a habitat for 52% of Indo-Pacific reef fishes and 37% of the world's reef fishes, it contains the greatest diversity of coral reef fishes in the world [17] More than 3,000 species of bony fish are distributed over more than 90% of the Coral Triangle.
On January 19, 2021, NOAA issued the Final Instruction for expansion of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. This action protects 14 additional reefs and banks, slightly adjusts the boundaries of the sanctuary's original three banks and expands the sanctuary from 56 square miles (145 km 2) to a total of 160 square miles (415 km 2).
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, [1] [2] composed of over 2,900 individual reefs [3] and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi).
Coral reefs are developed by the carbonate-based skeletons of a variety of animals and algae. Slowly and over time, the reefs build up to the surface in oceans. Coral reefs are found in shallow, warm salt water. The sunlight filters through clear water and allows microscopic organisms to live and reproduce. [4]
Coral reefs are one of the most well-known marine ecosystems in the world, with the largest being the Great Barrier Reef. These reefs are composed of large coral colonies of a variety of species living together. The corals form multiple symbiotic relationships with the organisms around them. [7]