Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef (Spanish: Arrecife Alacranes) is a reef surrounding a small group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico 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]
| Native name: Arrecife Alacranes | |
|---|---|
 ISS image of Scorpion Reef | |
  Scorpion Reef | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Gulf of Mexico Progreso Municipality Yucatán, Mexico |
| Coordinates | 22°22′58″N 89°40′57.8″W |
| Archipelago | Campeche Bank |
| Total islands | 5 |
| Major islands | Isla Pérez |
| Administration | |
| Official name | Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes |
| Designated | 2 February 2008 |
| Reference no. | 1820[1] |
Scorpion Reef contains the five main vegetated islands of 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 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.[5] [6]
Map
See also
References
- "Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- "Alacranes Reef". Yucatan Today. 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- "Arrecife Alacrán". GulfBase. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- "Instituto Nacional de Ecología" (in Spanish). Parque Marino Nacional Arrecife Alacranes. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- "The Wreck of the West India Ship Tweed". The Times (19519). London. 9 April 1847. col A-E, p. 5.
- Alone in Mexico: The astonishing travels of Karl Heller, 1845-1848. University of Alabama Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8173-1588-7.
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