Kenn Reef

Kenn Reef
  • Landsat 7
  • Path 088, Row 075
  • 26 January 2000

Situated remotely in the southeastern waters of the Coral Sea, Kenn Reef lies 100 km northeast from the Wreck Reefs and 140 km southeast from the Frederick Reefs; the Bellona Reefs of New Caledonia are located a further 277 km to the east, with the Australian mainland being located over 500 km to the southwest.

There are four main reefs — covering an area of 40 km² — forming an inverted L-shaped structure of 15 km in length, with a maximum width of 8 km along the southern edge. The three southerly reefs lie upon a common shelf from which the northern reef is separated from by a deep channel. The smallest unit, situated in the southeast, contains the only permanently emergent land — the tiny Observatory Cay.


image: millenium coral reefs landsat archive/usf millenium global coral reef mapping project/nasa seawifs/nasa jsc

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