Neva Shoals
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Location of the Neva Shoals |
The Neva Shoal make 979 km² stretch after Maro Reef is the second largest continuous coral reef in the Northwestern Hawaii Islands . They are about 1,700 km from Honolulu , the capital of Hawai'i , located in the northern Pacific Ocean area. The reef was discovered by Yuri Fjodorowitsch Lisjanski , a captain of the Imperial Russian Navy , whose ship Neva stranded here on October 15, 1805.
Strictly speaking, it is a coral atoll , which does not have the usual round or oval fringing reef, but only a net-like structure inside. The Neva Shoals are mostly below the surface of the sea, the approximately 1.6 km² of dry land in the northwest of the reef is known as Lisianski Island . There are countless lagoons between the higher parts of the reef .
Within the Hawai'i Islands, the Neva Shoals represent an important ecosystem. They are rich in fish, which researchers here describe as particularly aggressive. Because of the wealth of corals - there are at least 24 species of hard corals ( Scleractinia ) - and their magnificent shapes, the Neva Shoals are also referred to by scientists as Coral Gardens (German: " Coral Gardens ").