Coral Islands, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
1 September 2011

Note: The area of coverage in this GEOEYE-1 image is approximately 2.85 km x 2.85 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

The islands in this image belong to a set of numerous small coral reefs in the Makassar Strait, north of Makassar, immediately offshore. Near-horizontal reefs occur at different depths under water on these mushroom-shaped islands towards the northwest, their lowest and widest part. The reefs taper and rise southeast towards the land, the higher southern tips ending in small sand beaches. Two of the reefs, located towards the east, carry settlements next to the sand beaches. One of these consists of only four or five houses, but the other is a substantial village of tightly packed structures with red tin roofs, a grove of trees in the middle, and a number of piers on the coast. Several small boats could be seen either tied at piers or travelling between the islands. The nature of the reefs suggests fishing and diving as major activities in these islands.