Best Bank Reef
Macclesfield Bank is a vast, entirely submerged atoll and reef system located in the eastern part of the South China Sea. Named after the British ship HMS Macclesfield, it is administered by China as part of the Paracel and Zhongsha Island groups, though its ownership is also claimed by Taiwan and t...
Pedro Bank is a vast, shallow submarine elevation located in the Caribbean Sea, roughly 80 kilometers southwest of Jamaica. Covering an area of approximately 8,000 square kilometers, it features extensive coral reefs, sandy shoals, and small islets known as the Pedro Cays. The bank is a highly produ...
Saba Bank Reef is a large submarine atoll located in the Caribbean Sea, situated southeast of the island of Saba. As one of the largest submerged atolls in the world, it features a vast, shallow marine plateau that serves as a critical habitat for diverse coral species, fish, and marine mammals. In...
Serranilla Bank is a shallow, partially submerged coral reef and sandbar formation in the western Caribbean Sea, administered by Colombia under a permanent naval garrison. The feature is also claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act, as well as by Jamaica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Th...
The Burma Banks are a group of submerged offshore banks in the Andaman Sea, west of Myanmar's mainland and north of the Mergui Archipelago. Their summits rise from much deeper surrounding water but generally remain below the surface, creating exposed open-ocean dive sites rather than sheltered islan...
Bajo Nuevo Bank is a largely submerged reef and atoll formation in the western Caribbean Sea, marked by small cays and extensive shallow coral areas. Colombia administers it as part of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, while sovereignty has also been disputed or claimed...
Stetson Bank in the Gulf of Mexico is a clay-siltstone formation within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, supporting the northernmost coral reef on the US continental shelf.
Quita Sueño Bank is a largely submerged reef and bank in the western Caribbean Sea, northeast of Nicaragua and administered by Colombia as part of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Its shallow reefs and cays have long presented navigational hazards, and a lighthouse mark...
A remote submerged bank in the western Caribbean Sea administered by Cuba, historically noted for disorienting navigators and difficult cartographic surveys.
A submerged bank in the western Caribbean Sea, part of the maritime zone whose ownership between Nicaragua and Honduras was settled by the ICJ in 2007.
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, designated in 1992, hosts the northernmost coral reefs on the US continental shelf at about 180 km offshore Texas.
