Largest Artificial Reef Underway Off Yucatan
Largest Artificial Reef Underway Off Yucatan
Jun 4, 2014 03:15 PM ET // by Paul Heltzel
The largest artificial reef in the world is under construction off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
The project, called Kan-Kanán, will comprise more than 800 hollow, concrete pyramids. Each weights 10 tons, reports the Yucatan Times, and they'll be placed on a concrete base.
In addition to providing a habitat for thousands of marine species, the reef will also help reduce coastline erosion. The name Kan-Kanán means "The Guarding Serpent” in Mayan.
The reef site is located near the sea port of Puerto Morelos in Quintana Roo, the easternmost state of Mexico.
Once finished, builders say, the reef will be longer than the Brooklyn Bridge and offer a home to more than 13,000 marine species.
The new reef joins another ambitious reef project that was also built off the Yucatán Peninsula. In 2010, concrete statues based on real subjects were dropped into the sea in Isla Mujeres National Park, creating an underwater museum for divers and a reef for marine life.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/largest-artificial-reef-underway-off-yucatan-140605.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1