ABOUT HOW BIG IS A CORAL REEF?
Coral reefs vary immensely in structure, density, and area from one location to another. Some reefs are massive and cover many miles in diameter, while others may be no larger than a few yards across. Reefs may be elongated, following along a general shoreline, or they may start at the shoreline itself and work their way seaward to deeper waters. As a rule, the large, massive, spectacular reefs will nearly always be on the Eastern shore of an island, country, or continent. This is probably due to the fact that prevailing winds and currents nurture the reef building polyps by constantly renewing the food supply — a condition that is less prevalent on the Western coasts. The tremendous difference in reefs just a few miles apart is amazing. One reef may consist of enormous brain or boulder coral with heads as large as ten to twenty feet in diameter, while another reef in the same area would be nothing but sea fans and a few other soft corals. The largest reef ecosystem in the world is ac
