Lagoons and Coral Reefs of New Caledonia
Lagoons and Reefs of New Caledonia In July 2008 the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO added 27 new areas to its list of World Heritage sites One of those areas included the lagoons of New Caledonia Some 1 200 kilometers 750 miles east of Australia this French governed archipelago contains the world s third largest coral reef structure The coral reefs enclose the waters near the islands in shallow lagoons of impressive biodiversity On May 10 2001 the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on NASA s Landsat 7 satellite captured this image of Île Balabio off the northern tip of Grande Terra New Caledonia s main island In this natural color image the islands appear in shades of green and brown mixtures of vegetation and bare ground The surrounding waters range in color from pale aquamarine to deep blue and the color differences result from varying depths Over coral reef ridges and sand bars the water is shallowest and palest in color Darker shades of blue characterize deeper waters Reef enclosed shallow waters surround Île Balabio and a larger semi enclosed lagoon appears immediately east of that island Immediately north of Grande Terra unenclosed deeper waters predominate The coral reefs around New Caledonia support an unusual diversity of species including large numbers of predators and big fish turtles and the world s third largest dugong population Credit NASA Dembinsky Photo Associates www dpaphoto com
Size: 5200px × 3900px
Location: New Caledonia
Photo credit: © NASA / Dembinsky Photo Associates / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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