Best Shoal

Scarborough Shoal, also known as Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, is a disputed coral reef surrounded by a large lagoon in the South China Sea. The territory is subject to overlapping claims by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan, making it a focal point for regional geopolitical tensions. Followin...

Mischief Reef is a reef in the disputed Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea that has been administered as part of China's Sansha municipality since 2012. The submerged feature was occupied by China in 1995 and later converted through land reclamation into an artificial island hosting a milit...

Second Thomas Shoal is a submerged reef in the Spratly Island chain of the South China Sea that is subject to overlapping territorial claims. Since 1999, the Philippines has maintained a military presence on the shoal by stationing the grounded World War II-era landing ship BRP Sierra Madre there. T...

Cortes Bank is a shallow seamount located roughly 160 km (100 miles) west-southwest of San Diego, California, in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the California Continental Borderland and rises to within about 6 meters (20 feet) of the ocean surface. The bank is known among surfers for producing ext...

An Atlantic seamount southwest of Portugal first accurately surveyed by US naval officer Henry Honeychurch Gorringe in 1875, rising to within 25 m of the surface.

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...

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...

Sabina Shoal, also known as Escoda Shoal, is a submerged coral reef located in the Spratly Islands group in the South China Sea. It is situated west of the Philippine island of Palawan, placing it entirely within the Philippines' declared exclusive economic zone, though it is also claimed by China....

Marion Reef is a large, ring-shaped coral atoll in the Australian Coral Sea Marine Park, noted for its clear waters and complex deep-water coral structures.

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...

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...

James Shoal is a submerged feature in the southern South China Sea, roughly 80 kilometers from the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies below the water surface and is not an island capable of supporting habitation, making the common description of it as land or a sandbar inaccurate. Malaysia administ...

A shoal on the northern edge of the Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, a vast submarine plateau that formed part of the Doggerland landmass during the last glacial period.

A reef in the southern Spratly Islands of the South China Sea claimed by Malaysia, Brunei, and China, with Malaysia operating a small maritime facility there.

A remote submerged bank in the western Caribbean Sea administered by Cuba, historically noted for disorienting navigators and difficult cartographic surveys.

Royal Sovereign Shoals is a north-south British shoal group in the English Channel near 50°45'N, 00°26'E, measuring roughly 4 km by 1 km.

A submerged bank in the South China Sea within the broader Spratly Islands region, claimed by multiple states including China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

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.

Sheringham Shoal is an east-west British sandbank in the southern North Sea near 53°03'N, 01°10'E, measuring approximately 10 km by 1 km.

Triton Knoll is a British southern North Sea sandbank near 53°23'N, 01°00'E, extending about 25.5 km and notable for its offshore wind farm.

St. George Shoals is a shallow offshore bank in the Gulf of Maine off Massachusetts, used as a commercial fishing ground and notable for its complex tidal currents.

A shoal off the Norfolk coast in the southern North Sea near the Dudgeon area, which lent its name to the Dudgeon offshore wind farm that became operational around 2017.

Smiths Knoll is a British southern North Sea sandbank near 52°52'N, 02°13'E, measuring about 28 km by 1 km and containing 390 million cubic metres.

A sandbank group off Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, known as Les Ridens de Boulogne, forming a prominent shoal system in the eastern English Channel shipping corridor.

A sandbank off Broadstairs, Kent, near the North Foreland headland, which marks the southern entrance to the Thames Estuary and has long served as a key navigational landmark.

A shoal in the southern North Sea off the Norfolk coast near the village of Docking, England, charted as a navigational hazard in the busy approaches to the Wash.

A group of shoals in the southern North Sea off the Suffolk coast, part of the extensive system of offshore sandbanks stretching between the Thames Estuary and East Anglia.

Boulder Banks is a compact British English Channel shoal near 50°52'N, 00°47'E, charted as approximately 0.6 km long and 0.6 km wide.