Scientists have discovered an unknown coral reef with flourishing marine life off Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, the country’s environment minister said.
“A deepwater scientific expedition has found the first totally pristine coral reef, approximately two kilometres long, at 400 metres [deep], on the summit of a submarine mountain,” Environment Minister Jose Davalos announced in a Twitter thread on Monday. “Galapagos surprises us again!”
The two-kilometre reef —located on the summit of a submarine mountain formed by volcanic activity—was found to be in pristine condition.
The discovery came as a surprise to the exploration team, who believed that there was only one reef that was able to survive the El Niño weather cycle in 1982 and 1983 along the coast of the tiny Darwin Island….