Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Geological Formations

Coral Reef

Sedimentary and Stratigraphic Formations

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

A coral reef is an underwater rock formation built by colonies of reef-building corals. The structure forms as coral polyps deposit calcium carbonate, and most reefs are built from stony corals whose polyps cluster together in large colonies. Over time these calcium carbonate skeletons accumulate into a rigid, wave-resistant formation that also supports a rich underwater ecosystem.

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.