New Coral Reef Discovered Off the Galápagos Islands

The new coral reef lies at the summit of an underwater mountain, 400 meters beneath the surface. A deepwater expedition found the reef. It’s 2km long with a ‘pristine’ untouched ecosystem. More than 50% of its coral is still alive Scientists say the reef is several thousand years old. Experts thought only one Galápagos reef, the Wellington Reef, had survived freak weather in the 1980s. Now they’ll monitor the new coral reef to help preserve its unique biodiversity.

The Galápagos islands are a biodiversity hotspot, home to nearly 3,000 marine species, a fifth of which are found nowhere else. In 2021 Leonardo DiCaprio and 40 partners announced a $43 million pledge to rewild the islands. In 2022, Ecuador expanded the Galápagos marine reserve by 60,000 km2, creating a ‘marine superhighway‘ for sharks, turtles, whales, and other endangered species that stretches all the way to Costa Rican waters.

Watch to learn more about the new coral reef discovered in Galápagos.