FRINGING REEF
A Fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types (barrier reefs and atolls) in that has either an entirely shallow backreef zone (lagoon) or none at all. If a fringing reef grows directly from the shoreline,the reef flat extends right to the beach and there is no backreef. In other cases, fringing reefs may grow hundreds of yards from shore and contain extensive backreef areas with numerous seagrass meadows and patch reefs.
This type of coral reef is the most common type of reef found in the Caribbean and Red Sea. It is Darwin’s belief that fringing reefs are the first kind of reefs to form around a landmass in a long-term reef growth process.
Location
Fringing reefs are located near shore in the tropics in many areas and are the most common reef type. Coral reefs are found in the tropics in which the water is between 18°C and 30°C.
Many of the Great Barrier Reef's components are actually fringing reefs. Of the close to 3400 individual reefs, 760 are actually fringing reefs.