Maro Reef (Hawaiian: Nalukakala) is a largely submerged coralatoll located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was discovered in 1820 by Captain Joseph Allen of the ship Maro, after whose ship the reef was named. The largest coral reef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, it contains 37 species of stony coral. Hawaiian is the ancestral language of the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians, a Polynesian people. ... Orders see Anthozoa zsnobordinkid505@aol. ... Fanning Atoll (Tabuaeran) is a typical, small to moderate-sized atoll located in the central Pacific Ocean. ... the Hawaiian island chain . ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Families Scleractinia, also called stony star corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. ...
Located about 850 miles (1,370 km) northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maro Reef contains about 1 acre (4,000 m²) of dry land which itself can be submerged depending on the tides. Location of Honolulu, Hawai‘i Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ...
MaroReef is the largest coralreef in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), with over 1,934 square kilometers (approximately 746 square miles or 478,000 acres) of reef area.
MaroReef is very large and hard to navigate, making it difficult for scientists to study.
MaroReef has a large amount of the hard, pink crusty algae that grows on coral called "coralline algae" that acts like cement and holds the coral together in high surf.
Reef layout makes the atoll hard to navigate, and therefore difficult to study.
Researchers disagree on current state of the reef: Some fear it is in peril because its narrow, unconnected structure offers little protection from storm waves.
Others think it is a complicated reef system in balance with the elements.