ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 2 -- Marine researchers have discovered the deepest coral reef in the United States in about 250 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was tentatively identified as a coral reef in 1999 by a team from the University of South Florida. But it took several more years of research to confirm it as a living reef that depends on light filtering down from the surface.
"We were all blown away by this bizarre, flat, living sea floor covered with blue and brown corals and lettuce-like green algae," researcher Bret Jarrett said of seeing live video from an unmanned submersible.
The reef is on Pulley Ridge, an area west of the Dry Tortugas, the cluster of seven islands 70 miles west of Key West. The reef is up to three miles wide and about 20 miles long.
The scientists' research has been presented to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which will decide in the coming months whether to restrict fishing or trawling in the area.
