Coral reefs of the Virgin Islands other coral larvae to attach to and grow on. These corals can form into three different structures; fringing reefs, which are reefs that are close to the shore, barrier reefs, which are reefs that are alongside the shore and is separated by deep water, and an atoll reef which is a coral reef that circles a lagoon or body of water. As stated, the coral reefs such as fringing reefs, deep reefs, patch reefs and spur and groove formation are distributed over three islands in the Virgin Islands which are St. Croix (Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological
Middleton Reef Middleton Reef Middleton Reef is a coral reef in the Tasman Sea. It is separated by a deep oceanic pass some 45 km wide from nearby Chan Reef, forming part of the Lord Howe Rise underwater plateau. It is around 220 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the coast of New South Wales. In 1997 the Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 included the reef in Australia's Coral Sea Islands Territory. It is among the southernmost platform reefs in the world. Despite its relatively high latitude, there is a wide variety of flora and fauna