Top 10 Most Interesting Coral Reefs

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The next reef is one we should all be familiar with; The Florida Keys Reef. This 120-mile island chain is home to the continental United States’ only living-coral barrier reef. Some inhabitants of this sanctuary include the spiny lobster, snow crab, Caribbean manatee, American crocodile, and leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, and green sea turtles may appear. One of the most popular places to visit within this reef system is the ‘Christ of the Abyss’ statue located in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The Dive Spots website says that this 8 ½ foot, 4000 pound statue is one of three originally made for Egidi Cressi, the dive equipment manager and later donated to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in 1966 in recognition of the conservation efforts involved in the creation of America’s first underwater park.

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which is next on our list, stretches from the tip of the Yucatan peninsula to the islands off the coast of Honduras. More than 60 species of coral and 500 species of fish live along the 700-mile-long reef. According to the Nature Conservancy website, this area is threatened by overfishing, pollution from human settlements and agriculture, sedimentation, inappropriate tourism practices and changing land uses along the coast. Climate change is causing higher water temperatures, sea-level rise, stronger storms and changes in the pH of seawater—all of which are pushing natural systems to their limits.

Our final reef is the Red Sea Coral Reef, and it stretches more than 1,200 miles along the coastlines of Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. It is home to more than 260 different species of stony coral and more than 1,100 species of fish, about 10 percent of which are found nowhere else in the world. The Reef Chief website states that sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, octopus, squid and cuttlefish all call the Red Sea home. Hundreds, if not thousands, of sea creatures, including more than 1,200 species of fish, live in the sea. Thousands of sea birds also inhabit this region because of the sea’s shallow waters along its coastline.

Today I talked to you about multiple different coral reefs filled with diverse wildlife. I can tell you from experience that seeing the reefs first-hand is unbelievable. After learning about several reefs and seeing what kind of creatures inhabit them, I hope you are encouraged to experience them for yourselves. Thanks for listening.