CORAL REEF


Meaning of CORAL REEF in English

Ridge or hummock formed in shallow ocean areas from the external skeletons of corals .

The skeleton consists of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), 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.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.