Talk:Coral Sea Islands

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What is the population of the area - User:kendanielone

It is mentioned many times in the article that many of the Coral Sea reefs are atolls. This is incorrect. Atolls are quite distinct geological entities consisting of ring-shaped (or irregular rings) of coral growth that have formed around the edges of a sinking volcano ... the formations of the Coral Sea are quite different. They are bank and plateau reef structures. Also much of the content of this article seems to have been ripped from another site without credit. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.154.92.86 (talk • contribs) 19:55, 25 June 2005 (UTC)

Since I wrote most of the article, I do not accept the accusation that "much of the content of this article seems to have been ripped from another site without credit." Fact is that much of the content was interpreted from nautical charts and sailing directions. As to the claim that that many of the reefs are not atolls, on http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/ARB/019-23/019.pdf (Atoll Research Bulletin No. 19), page 20, most of the reefs are listed as atolls. If you have newer evidence rendering this sourche obsolete, please present it.--Ratzer 14:48, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

A newer reference is The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, by Mark D. Spalding, Corinna Ravilious, and Edmund P. Green, ISBN 0-520-23255-0, London 2001. I am citing from page 319:

"Due east of the Great Barrier Reef and the Torres Strait, Australia holds jurisdiction of a large number of reef formations lying some distance off the continental shelf. In the far north close to Papua New Guinea these include the Portlock Reefs and Eastern Fields. The majority of the remainder are located in an area known as the Coral Sea Plateau. Most are atoll formations, stretching from Ospreay Reef in the north to Saumarez Reef in the south."--Ratzer 14:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)