| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,733,067,640 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
atoll |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
|
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 atoll [′a‚tȯl] (geography) A ring-shaped coral reef that surrounds a lagoon without projecting land area and that is surrounded by open sea.
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, a circle of pounded coral sand a hundred yards wide, twenty miles in circumference, and from three to five feet above high-water mark. Didn't he fetch the atoll after eighteen days in the longboat? I live on an atoll, a low island, it is a strip of land surrounding a lagoon, and its beauty is the beauty of the sea and sky and the varied colour of the lagoon and the grace of the cocoa-nut trees; but the place where Strickland lived had the beauty of the Garden of Eden. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|