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atoll |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
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atoll: see coral reefs coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals , colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone). ..... Click the link for more information. . atollCoral reef enclosing a lagoon. Atolls consist of ribbons of reef that may not be circular but that are closed shapes, sometimes miles across, around a lagoon that may be 160 ft (50 m) deep or more. Most of the reef itself is usually below the water surface; around the rim along the top are usually low, flat islands or more continuous strips of low, flat land. atoll a circular coral reef or string of coral islands surrounding a lagoon
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A coral atoll is a group of reef islands that have grown along the donut-shaped rim of a submerged volcano. In the summer of 2002, an outbreak of febrile illness began in the Republic of Maldives, a nation of 26 coral atolls straddling the equator in the Indian Ocean. On 19 January 1972, a claim was established on two small coral atolls in the South Pacific. |
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