New Caledonia Barrier Reef

The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, and is the second-longest double-barrier coral reef in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef.


New Caledonia Barrier reef around Grand Terre, New Caledonia's largest island, and the Ile des Pins and several small islands, reaching a length of 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). Coral wrap lagoon of 24,000 square kilometers (9300 sq mi), which has an average depth of 25 meters (82 feet). Coral lie up to 30 kilometers (19 miles) from shore, but extend almost 200 kilometers (124 miles) to the Entrecasteaux reefs in the northwest. Northwest extension wrap Belep Islands and other sand cays. Some parts of the open to the sea. Part Boulari, which leads to Noumea, the capital and main port of New Caledonia, is marked by Amédée lighthouse.


Coral has a diversity of species with high endemic levels, and is home to the endangered dugong (Dugong dugon), and is an important nesting site for Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Most of the reefs are generally considered to be in good health. Some reefs have been damaged by waste east of nickel mining in Grand Terre. Sedimentation from mining, agricultural, and grazing have affected the reef near the mouth of the river, which has been exacerbated by the destruction of mangrove forests, which help to retain sediment. Some reefs have been buried under several meters of mud.

In the New Caledonia lagoon there are many aquatic species ranging from plankton to fish a larger and even sharks.