Mexico - Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve

The Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve is located in the Caribbean Sea 30.8 kilometers east of the Mahahual coastal agglomeration which is the closest continental point; the reserve is separated from the coast by means of a canal 1,000 meters deep. The village of Mahahual belongs to the municipality of Othon P. Blanco in the state of Quintana Roo. Natural environment The Banco Chinchorro biosphere reserve covers an area of ​​144,360 hectares of which only 0.4% is land. It contains three central zones that occupy a total area of ​​4,587.5 hectares while the buffer zone covers 139,773.5 hectares. The reserve includes reef formations, a reef lagoon, three rocky islets (Lobos Islet, Centro islet and Norte Islet) and adjacent ocean waters. It is a reef complex of the atoll or platform reef category.