Wachusett Reef was a phantom reef in the Antarctic Ocean. Captain Lambert of the ship ''Wachusett'' reported that on June 4, 1899 he passed over a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

which appeared to be of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

formation in approximately latitude . The reef appeared to be about wide. The bottom showed of a dark gray color with deep blue on both sides of the reef. The depth was estimated at from ; unfortunately no soundings were taken. The 2015 edition of the ''National Geographic Atlas of the World'' still shows Wachusett Reef, with a depth of . Nevertheless, its existence is doubtful, making it a phantom reef. Other nearby historically reported reefs which appear to not exist include Ernest Legouve Reef, Jupiter Reef, and

Maria Theresa Reef The Maria Theresa Reef is a supposed reef in the South Pacific (south of the French Tuamotu islands and east of New Zealand); it appears to be a phantom reef. It is also known as Tabor Island or Tabor Reef on French maps. Reports Bernhard Kraut ...

Notes

References

{{PD-old-text, titl
''Pacific Islands Pilot'', v. 2
year=1916 * Eade, J.V. (1976). ''Geological notes on the Southwest Pacific Basin in the area of Wachusett Reef and Maria Theresa Reef''. Wellington: New Zealand Oceanographic Institute. Phantom islands Reefs of the Pacific Ocean