A shoal of rock, coral or other sufficiently coherent material, lying beneath the surface of water
For other uses, see Reef (disambiguation).
Coral reef at Nusa Lembongan, Bali, IndonesiaPamalican island with surrounding reef, Sulu Sea, PhilippinesA reef surrounding an isletReefs off Vanatinai Island in the Louisiade Archipelago
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water.[1] Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave erosion planing down rock outcrops. However, reefs such as the coral reefs of tropical waters are formed by biotic (living) processes, dominated by corals and coralline algae. Artificial reefs, such as shipwrecks and other man-made underwater structures, may occur intentionally or as the result of an accident. These are sometimes designed to increase the physical complexity of featureless sand bottoms to attract a more diverse range of organisms. Reefs are often quite near to the surface, but not all definitions require this.[1]
Earth's largest coral reef system is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, at a length of over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles).
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A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result...
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate...
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres...
Look up reefing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Reefing reduces the area of a sail, usually by folding or rolling one edge of the canvas in on itself...
scarp in South Africa Great Barrier Reef or "The Reef", the planet's largest coral reef The Reef or The Reefs, a former mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, in...
species of reef-associated sharks which are known by the common name reef sharks. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans: Blacktip reef shark Grey reef shark Whitetip...
An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote...
Kingman Reef (/ˈkɪŋmən/) is a largely submerged, uninhabited, triangle-shaped reef, geologically an atoll, 9.0 nmi (20 km) east-west and 4.5 nmi (8 km)...
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reef. It is distinguished from the other main types, barrier reefs and atolls, in that it has...
The reef knot, or square knot, is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is sometimes also referred to as...
The Pacific reef heron (Egretta sacra), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia...
The reef triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus), also known as the rectangular triggerfish, wedgetail triggerfish or by its Hawaiian name humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa...
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...
Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among...
The blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which can be easily identified by the...
Jeppes Reef, is a small rural village on the R570 road in Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, 25 kilometres (16 mi)...
The Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater columbarium in what was conceived by the creator as the world's largest man-made reef (covering over 600,000...
The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus. A small shark...
Bãi Cỏ Mây (Vietnamese) and Rén'ài Jiāo (Chinese: 仁爱礁/仁愛礁), is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, 105 nautical miles (194 km;...
Tennent Reef, also known as Pigeon Reef, (Filipino: Bahura ng Lopez-Jaena); Tiên Nữ Reef (Vietnamese: Đá Tiên Nữ); Mandarin Chinese: 无乜礁; pinyin: Wúmiē...
Swallow Reef, also known as Malay: Pulau Layang-Layang; Vietnamese: Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin Chinese: 燕子島; pinyin: Yànzi Dǎo; Celerio Reef (Filipino: Bahura...
island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a barrier reef that is detached from the island. Eventually, reef and the small coral islets on top of...
outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and includes Heralds Beacon Island, Osprey Reef, the Willis Group and fifteen other reef/island groups. Cato Island is...
A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role...
The grey reef shark or gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, sometimes misspelled amblyrhynchus or amblyrhinchos) is a species of requiem shark...
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