Coral Reefs, South China Sea
7 February 2013

Note: The area of coverage in this GeoEye-1 image is 3.00 km x 3.00 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

This is one of the many reefs that lie across 9-12 degrees of latitude in the middle of the South China Sea. The image shows the northwestern corner of an elongated atoll, which is almost entirely submerged. The northern edge is nearly at sea level, as shown by the line of small breakers. The atoll has breaks and passages around its edge, such as, the narrow, steep-sided break towards the northwest. Variations in the shade of blue reflect the varying depth of water. The outer sides of the reef fall almost vertically to the deep sea but the inner edges slope towards the shallow lagoon, displaying passages of sand and coral fragments. Several small individual reefs have developed in the lagoon. There is no sign of human interference in this image.