Scorpion Reef

Scorpion Reef (Spanish: Arrecife Alacranes) is a reef surrounding a small group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico off the northern coast of the state of Yucatán, Mexico.[2] Designated a national park, the reef is part of the Campeche Bank archipelago and is the largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico.[3][4] It contains the five main vegetated islands of Isla Pérez, Isla Desertora, Isla Pájaros, Isla Chica, and Isla Desterrada.[3][4] Isla Pérez is the only inhabited island and includes a lighthouse.[3] The reef, including its islets and surrounding waters, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a population of magnificent frigatebirds.[5]

Scorpion Reef
Native name:
Arrecife Alacranes
ISS image of Scorpion Reef
Scorpion Reef
Geography
LocationGulf of Mexico
Progreso Municipality
Yucatán, Mexico
Coordinates22°22′58″N 89°40′57.8″W
ArchipelagoCampeche Bank
Total islands5
Major islandsIsla Pérez
Administration
Official nameParque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes
Designated2 February 2008
Reference no.1820[1]

History

The British postal steamer Tweed shipwrecked in Arrecife Alacranes in 1847, with the loss of 72 lives and a cargo of mercury during a journey from Havana to Veracruz.[6] [7]

  • Map

See also

References
  1. "Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. "Alacranes Reef". Yucatan Today. 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  3. "Arrecife Alacrán". GulfBase. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  4. "Instituto Nacional de Ecología" (in Spanish). Parque Marino Nacional Arrecife Alacranes. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  5. "Arrecife Alacranes". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. "The Wreck of the West India Ship Tweed". The Times (19519). London. 9 April 1847. col A-E, p. 5.
  7. Alone in Mexico: The astonishing travels of Karl Heller, 1845-1848. University of Alabama Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8173-1588-7.


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