Snapper Ledge is a small

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

located within the

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys. It includes the Florida Reef, the only barrier coral reef in North America and the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world. It also has e ...

. It lies to the southeast of

Key Largo Key Largo () is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway ...

, to the south the Key Largo Existing Management Area and

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida. It includes around of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. The park is roughly long and extends into the Atlantic Ocean along the prominent Hawk Cha ...

. Unlike many reefs within the Sanctuary, this reef is not within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). It is near

Pickles Reef Pickles Reef is a small coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the southeast of Key Largo, to the south the Key Largo Existing Management Area and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Unlike many reefs ...

. Since 2009, the Coral Restoration Foundation has used Snapper Ledge as a nursery site to grow

Elkhorn coral Elkhorn coral (''Acropora palmata'') is an important reef-building coral in the Caribbean. The species has a complex structure with many branches which resemble that of elk antlers; hence, the common name. The branching structure creates habit ...

(''Acropora palmata'').

Gallery

File:Buoys at Pickles Reef and Snapper Ledge.jpg, Buoys at Pickles Reef and Snapper Ledge Image:Diadema Snapper Ledge FL.jpg, ''

Diadema antillarum ''Diadema antillarum'', also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines. It is th ...

'' with unusual grey spines at Snapper Ledge Image:Diploria closeup FL.jpg, Closeup of the very large

brain coral Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of geneticall ...

, ''Diploria strigosa'', at Snapper Ledge Image:Agelas conifera FL.jpg, Tube sponge, ''

Agelas conifera ''Agelas conifera'', also known as the brown tube sponge, is a species of sponge. Its color is brown, tan, or greyish brown with a lighter interior. It is common in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and occasional in Florida. ''Agelas conifera'' contain ...

'' at Snapper Ledge

References

NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Maps, Florida Keys East

at Snapper Ledge and Pickles Reef * The Coral Restoration Foundation's description of thei
Elkhorn coral program
at Snapper Ledge
photos of
CFR's elkhorn coral nursery at Snapper Ledge {{Corals Coral reefs of the Florida Keys