Scorpion Reef
Native name:
Arrecife Alacranes
ISS image of Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef is located in Mexico
Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef
Geography
LocationGulf of Mexico
Progreso Municipality
Yucatán, Mexico
Coordinates22°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
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". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Alacranes Reef". Yucatan Today. 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "Arrecife Alacrán". GulfBase. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Instituto Nacional de Ecología" (in Spanish). Parque Marino Nacional Arrecife Alacranes. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "Arrecife Alacranes". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Wreck of the West India Ship Tweed". The Times. No. 19519. London. 9 April 1847. col A-E, p. 5.
  7. ↑ Alone in Mexico: The astonishing travels of Karl Heller, 1845-1848. University of Alabama Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8173-1588-7.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arrecife Alacranes.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.