Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an...

(Encyclopedia) coral, small, sedentary marine animal, related to the sea anemone but characterized by a skeleton of horny or calcareous material. The skeleton itself is also called coral. Although most corals form c...

(Encyclopedia) Coral Sea Islands, external territory of Australia, comprising scattered small islands and reefs spread over c.400,000 sq mi (1,035,995 sq km) of the South Pacific Ocean, E of the Great Barrier Reef, ...

(Encyclopedia) coral snake, name for poisonous New World snakes of the same family as the Old World cobras. About 30 species inhabit Mexico, Central America, and N South America; two are found in the United States. ...

(Encyclopedia) Coral Gables, city (2020 pop. 49,248), Miami-Dade co., SE Fla., SW of Miami; inc. 1925. Founded at the height of the Florida land boom, Coral Gables is ...

(Encyclopedia) Coral Springs, city (2020 pop. 134,394), Broward co., SE Fla.; inc. 1963. Largely residential, it is a city that has grown rapidly along with the southe...

(Encyclopedia) atoll: see coral reefs.

(Encyclopedia) Florida Keys, chain of coral and limestone islands and reefs, c.150 mi (240 km) long, extending from Virginia Key, S of Miami Beach, to Key West, and forming the southern extremity of Florida. Between...

(Encyclopedia) Great Barrier Reef, largest complex of coral reef in the world, c.1,250 mi (2,000 km) long, in the Coral Sea, forming a natural breakwater for the coast of Queensland, NE Australia. Composed of more t...

(Encyclopedia) Cape Coral, city (2020 pop. 194,016), Lee co., SW coastal Fla., located on an estuary of the Caloosahatchee River; inc. 1970. It is mostly a residential...