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coral reef |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.04 sec. |
coral reefRidge or hummock formed in shallow ocean areas from the external skeletons of corals. The skeleton consists of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), or limestone. A coral reef may grow into a permanent coral island, or it may take one of four principal forms. Fringing reefs consist of a flat reef area around a nonreef island. Barrier reefs may lie a mile or more offshore, separated from the landmass by a lagoon or channel. Atolls are circular reefs without a central landmass. Patch reefs have irregular tablelike or pinnacle features. Smaller patches occur inside atoll lagoons; larger patches occur as isolated parts of any of the other three reef categories, and they sometimes occur completely separate from other kinds of reefs. 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. |
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Several women recall having to carry small amounts of water up from the caves, while the men fished off the narrow, steep fringing reef. The submerged landscape also features a double reef where, at about 100 feet, there is a channel of empty sand and beyond it, another fringing reef that begins at 130 feet. For thousands of years a fringing reef has protected Hanauma Bay from wave erosion. |
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