Established January 1981 | Area 17 NM (58 km) Nearest city Savannah | |
Governing body | ||
Earth is blue welcome to gray s reef national marine sanctuary
Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest near shore live-bottom reefs in the southeastern United States. The sanctuary, designated in January 1981, is located 17.5 nautical miles (32.4 km) off Sapelo Island, Georgia, and is one of 13 marine sanctuaries that make up the U.S. National Marine Sanctuary System.
Contents
- Earth is blue welcome to gray s reef national marine sanctuary
- Map of Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary United States
- References
Map of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, United States
Within the 17-square-nautical-mile (58 km2) sanctuary, there are both rocky ledges and sandy flat places. The reef's dolomitic sandstone outcrops, submerged beneath 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 m) of water, can be as tall as 2 to 3 m and are highly complex. These nooks and crannies provide plenty of places for invertebrates to latch on to and for fish to hide in. Together these animals form a dense carpet of living creatures that in places completely hides the rock. That gives the habitat of Gray's Reef its common name — a "live bottom".
Researchers from NOAA and the University of Georgia have used the site to study invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology as well as the effects of erosion.