Global distribution of coral reefs

Where are the coral reefs?

Coral reefs of the world. Source: NOAA.

Scientists estimate the total area of coral reefs in the world at 300 000 km². This only represents 0,1% of the world's oceans. This means we have to cherish these treasures of the ocean!

The map shows us that coral reefs are located in the tropics and subtropics (between 30° North latitude and 30° South latitude).

Is it possible to find corals in Norway? ↓ ↑

Lophelia deepwater corals. Source: NOAA.

Cold-water corals, called Lophelia reefs, are found in many of the world's oceans. They occur in a wide range of different depths, but nearly all are found below the depth which light can penetrate, and below the storm wave base which can damage corals. In the Sula Ridge Norway, the coral grows even in an iceberg furrow forming a coral bank 13 km in length, 300 m wide and 45 m high!

More in detail…

Coral reefs are widely spread in this zone, but in some regions the concentration of coral reefs is much higher than in others (click on the map to find out where the different places are located) :

1. The tropical western Atlantic is the region of tropical and subtropical America between Bermuda (Be) in the North and Brazil (Br) to the South, including the Gulf of Mexico (GM) and the Caribbean Sea (CS).
2. The Indo-Pacific covers the vast region from East Africa and the Red Sea (RS) to the Hawaiian (H) and Tuamotu Archipelagoes (TA).

Worldwide distribution of coral reefs.

In a comparison of biodiversity, the Indo-Pacific is roughly ten times more diverse than the western Atlantic. For example, there are approximately sixty species of corals inhabiting the coral reefs of the western Atlantic compared with an estimated 500-600 species in the Indo-Pacific.

Coral reefs are rare or absent in the tropical Atlantic of South America and Africa mainly because of the great influx and circulation of fresh water and silt from the Amazon and Congo River systems.