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TheIslandsofOceana
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Coral | very very small sea animals that have died and have been pressed together under the ocean. |
| reef | a structure formed when new coral builds on top of old coral |
| lagoon | the shallow water between a reef and an island |
| atoll | coral reefs built on a sunken volcano |
| raised coral island | a flat atoll that maybe several hundred feet above the sea. It has no lagoon |
| limestone | composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral |
| volcanic island | island that begins forming under the sea. If the volcano keeps pouring out lava long enough, the land mass rises above the surface of the ocean |
| continental island | island that used to be part of a continent. |
| continental shelf | the part of a land mass that is near the shore but under the ocean. |
| island | land surrounded by water. Smaller than continents. |
| Birth of Atoll Step 1 | A volcanic island becomes extinct |
| Step 2 | Coral grows on sides of the volcano forming a fringing reef, often including a shallow lagoon between the land and the main reef. |
| Step 3 | As the volcano sinks, the coral grows up and out forming a larger barrier reef with a bigger and deeper lagoon inside |
| Last step | The island/volcano sinks and disappears below the sea and the barrier reef becomes an atoll enclosing an open lagoon |
Created by:
naomixlove
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