6 Aldabra Atoll (Seychelles)
Second atoll in the world, the Aldabra is 420 km northwest of Madagascar and 1,150 km from Victoria, capital of Seychelles. Its isolated location explains its small number of inhabitants and visitors. It is surrounded by wetlands, slopes, and rich in corals and reef fish. Wild and protected from the interference of man, self-sufficient habitat remains. The Aldabra is home to species such as hammerhead sharks, barracuda and more than 150,000 giant tortoises endemic.
7 Barrier Reef (Belize)
This reef is part of the vast Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which stretches over 1000 km from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Islas de la Bahia in Honduras. The Caribbean coast of Belize, which extends over 300 km, is home to 100 species of coral and 500 species of fish. People come here mainly to scuba diving because the barrier has one of the most beautiful sites in the world including the Great Blue Hole, an underwater cave 300 meters in diameter and 124 m deep and 70 km from the coast . In 1996, UNESCO inscribed the barrier to World Heritage. However, global warming, increased pollution and unbridled tourism threaten futures this fragile environment.
8 Komodo National Park, Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia)
The name "Komodo" conjures up the image of the lizard namesake. In fact, the big lizard is the star of the Komodo National Park. Yet the nearby ocean has other wonders. Temperate waters offer an iridescent coral network, where a shimmering wildlife seahorse, fish, frogs, octopus and tunicates lives.
9 Abrolhos Archipelago (Brazil)
The Abrolhos Islands, near the southern coast of Bahia state, has long been renowned for their coral-like fungi. In 2008, researchers have discovered a new set of corals, doubling the ecosystem then the largest in the South Atlantic. Coral reefs around the archipelago span 46,000 km2 and contain species previously unknown to corals, fish and molluscs.
Access to the reef is more convenient via Caravelas fishing town of Bahia state, 920 km from Rio de Janeiro.
10 Barrier Røst (Norway)
Coral depths thrive in the waters north of the Arctic Circle. Barrier Røst, discovered in 2002, is the largest coral reef in cold water, with an area of 120 km2 and located at a depth of 400 m. Røst is an island of Lofoten, 200 miles southwest of Tromsø in the north. Nutritious currents flowing around the islands feed a world rich in marine life and shipwrecks. If the reef is too far and too deep for the average diver, there are other activities.
Source: lonelyplanet.fr
Second atoll in the world, the Aldabra is 420 km northwest of Madagascar and 1,150 km from Victoria, capital of Seychelles. Its isolated location explains its small number of inhabitants and visitors. It is surrounded by wetlands, slopes, and rich in corals and reef fish. Wild and protected from the interference of man, self-sufficient habitat remains. The Aldabra is home to species such as hammerhead sharks, barracuda and more than 150,000 giant tortoises endemic.
7 Barrier Reef (Belize)
This reef is part of the vast Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which stretches over 1000 km from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Islas de la Bahia in Honduras. The Caribbean coast of Belize, which extends over 300 km, is home to 100 species of coral and 500 species of fish. People come here mainly to scuba diving because the barrier has one of the most beautiful sites in the world including the Great Blue Hole, an underwater cave 300 meters in diameter and 124 m deep and 70 km from the coast . In 1996, UNESCO inscribed the barrier to World Heritage. However, global warming, increased pollution and unbridled tourism threaten futures this fragile environment.
8 Komodo National Park, Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia)
The name "Komodo" conjures up the image of the lizard namesake. In fact, the big lizard is the star of the Komodo National Park. Yet the nearby ocean has other wonders. Temperate waters offer an iridescent coral network, where a shimmering wildlife seahorse, fish, frogs, octopus and tunicates lives.
9 Abrolhos Archipelago (Brazil)
The Abrolhos Islands, near the southern coast of Bahia state, has long been renowned for their coral-like fungi. In 2008, researchers have discovered a new set of corals, doubling the ecosystem then the largest in the South Atlantic. Coral reefs around the archipelago span 46,000 km2 and contain species previously unknown to corals, fish and molluscs.
Access to the reef is more convenient via Caravelas fishing town of Bahia state, 920 km from Rio de Janeiro.
10 Barrier Røst (Norway)
Coral depths thrive in the waters north of the Arctic Circle. Barrier Røst, discovered in 2002, is the largest coral reef in cold water, with an area of 120 km2 and located at a depth of 400 m. Røst is an island of Lofoten, 200 miles southwest of Tromsø in the north. Nutritious currents flowing around the islands feed a world rich in marine life and shipwrecks. If the reef is too far and too deep for the average diver, there are other activities.
Source: lonelyplanet.fr
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