Virgin Islands Coral Reef

The Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument is a beautiful and diverse ecosystem located off the coast of Saint John and adjacent to Virgin Islands National Park. It protects and preserves 12,708 acres of submerged marine habitat. The health of the coral reefs in this area is closely linked to the plants and animals that live there, as well as the adjacent non-coral marine environments like sandy bottoms, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests. The area was only recently protected, which means that there is still a lot we don't know about it. However, researchers are already finding that the coral reefs in this area are incredibly diverse and complex.