]
]
Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve is a former
marine protected area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...
consisting of waters around
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
and
Middleton reefs located at the south-eastern end of the
Coral Sea Islands, an
Australian territory in the
Coral Sea.
[Environment Australia.] It was incorporated into the new
Lord Howe Commonwealth Marine Reserve in December 2012.
The two reefs also form a
Ramsar site, having been listed as Ramsar Site 1223, on 21 October 2002, under the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...
as a wetland of international importance.
[Annotated Ramsar List.]
Description
Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef are a pair of isolated oceanic platform reefs separated from one another by 45 km of deep oceanic waters. They are located in the Coral Sea, around 175 km north from
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
and 555 km off the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
coast, due east from
Coffs Harbour. They are unique in that they represent the southernmost platform reefs in the world.
[
The two reefs of are of similar size and shape. They are largely awash, with only two small sand cays, one at each reef, being emergent at high tide. The reefs sit atop a feature known as the Lord Howe Rise — a ridge of volcanic origins that runs from New Zealand northwest across the Tasman Sea. Nearby Lord Howe Island is the only other emergent part of the ridge.][
Despite their high latitude both reefs display a rich and diverse marine flora and flora, brought about by their location in an area where tropical and temperate ocean currents meet. Some 314 fishes of 174 genera and 75 families have been recorded from the site, many more than at other Tasman Sea islands.][
As well as their considerable natural values, a large number of shipwrecks gives the area considerable marine archaeological significance. They are protected by the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, covering 1,880 km2. The reserve was proclaimed in 1987 to protect the two reefs' important and fragile marine ecosystems, as well as with the aim of conserving the rare and endangered Black Cod (''Epinephelus daemelli'').][
]
Elizabeth Reef
Elizabeth Reef at 8.2 km by 5.5 km is slightly smaller than Middleton. Its cay, Elizabeth Island, measures about 400 m in length and is up to 400 m in width. At low tides much of the reef flat is exposed by the receding waters.[
]
Middleton Reef
Middleton Reef is a kidney-shaped structure, 8.9 km by 6.3 km. On the north side is an entrance into the interior lagoon which is protected by the hard algal ridge and extensive reef flat that forms the outer margin to the reef. Its cay, known as The Sound, measures 100 m by 70 m. Its shallow lagoon has a sandy to silty bottom that contains numerous patch reefs and areas of coral pavement.[
]
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve
Coral Sea Islands
Ramsar sites in Australia
Former protected areas of the Australian government
Protected areas established in 2002
Protected areas disestablished in 2012