Banco Chinchorro

Banco Chinchorro is an atoll reef lying off the southeast coast of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco in Quintana Roo, Mexico, near Belize that is one of the world's premiere shipwreck diving spots.

Character of the Islands

The reef, which lies in Mexican waters 35 km offshore in the Caribbean Sea, is about 80 km east of the city of Chetumal,is approximately convert|40.2|km|mi long from north so south, and approximately convert|16|km|mi wide at its widest point.The atoll's islands lie around a large central lagoon. The natural vegetation of the islands is largely mangrove near the shore shading into open woodland more than 20-30 m from the shore. There is a cayman reserve on the southernmost (and biggest) island. The islands (in common with many isolated tropical islands) are thickly populated with small crabs, which are tame and so easily trodden on inadvertantly by visitors.

Some of the islands are inhabited by fishermen, who live in dwellings on stilts about 60-100 m offshore to subvert local regulations forbidding private construction. [Lonely Planet Guide Mexico, Lonely Planet publications, Melbourne, (2005)]

hipwrecks

The reef is home to at least nine shipwrecks, including two Spanish Galleons. The names of the known wrecked ships are: SS "Caldera", SS "Escasell", SS "Far Star", SS "Ginger Screw", SS "Glen View", SS" Penelopez", SS "San Andreas", and SS "Tropic". There is also a large ferry from Cozumel that washed up on Chinchorro during Hurricane Wilma.

References

External links

* [http://www.opb.gob.mx/municipio/naturaleza/ecosistema.htm Ecosistema ] Ayuntamiento de Othón P. Blanco