Earth:Scorpion Reef

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Short description: Mexican reef in the Gulf of Mexico
Scorpion Reef
Native name:
Arrecife Alacranes
Alacran ESC large ISS006 ISS006-E-52094.jpg
ISS image of Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef is located in Mexico
Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef
Geography
LocationGulf of Mexico
Progreso Municipality
Yucatán, Mexico
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 22°22′58″N 89°40′57.8″W / 22.38278°N 89.682722°W / 22.38278; -89.682722
ArchipelagoCampeche Bank
Total islands5
Major islandsIsla Pérez
Administration
Mexico
Official nameParque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes
Designated2 February 2008
Reference no.1820[1]

Scorpion Reef (Spanish: Arrecife Alacranes) is an atoll containing a small group of islets in the Gulf of Mexico, about 125 km (78 mi; 67 NM) off the northern coast of the state of Yucatán, Mexico.[2] Designated a national park, the reef is part of the Campeche Bank archipelago and is the largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico.[3][4] It contains five main vegetated islands: Isla Pérez, Isla Desertora, Isla Pájaros, Isla Chica, and Isla Desterrada.[3][4] Isla Pérez is the only inhabited island and includes a lighthouse.[3] The reef, including its islets and surrounding waters, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a population of magnificent frigatebirds.[5]

History

The British postal steamer Tweed shipwrecked in Arrecife Alacranes in 1847, with the loss of 72 lives and a cargo of mercury during a journey from Havana to Veracruz.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. "Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes". https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1820. Retrieved 25 April 2018. 
  2. "Alacranes Reef". Yucatan Today. 2008. http://yucatantoday.com/en/topics/alacranes-reef. Retrieved 13 April 2010. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Arrecife Alacrán". GulfBase. http://www.gulfbase.org/reef/view.php?rid=arrecife14. Retrieved 13 April 2010. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Instituto Nacional de Ecología" (in Spanish). Parque Marino Nacional Arrecife Alacranes. http://www2.ine.gob.mx/publicaciones/libros/2/alacranes.html?id_pub=2. Retrieved 13 April 2010. 
  5. "Arrecife Alacranes". BirdLife International. 2021. http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/arrecife-alacranes-iba-mexico. 
  6. "The Wreck of the West India Ship Tweed". The Times (London) (19519): col A-E, p. 5. 9 April 1847. 
  7. Alone in Mexico: The astonishing travels of Karl Heller, 1845-1848. University of Alabama Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8173-1588-7. 

External links