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"Mermaid Reef is the most northeasterly reef
of the Rowley Shoals, situated 295 km north west of Broome, Western Australia
and 29 km northeast of Clerke Reef. It is 14.5 km long and up to 7.6 km
in width. Its lagoon is the largest and deepest among the three reefs,
with depths of up to 20 m. It is connected to the ocean via a single narrow
passage in the northeast. The reef of the western rim is around 2 km in
width and includes an outer reef flat with about 500 m of drying reef
exposed at low tide and a back reef flat of 500 m width. The eastern reef
is much narrower, with a width of around 600 m.
Mermaid Reef has no permanent land — at high tide the reef disappears
beneath the waves. At low tides, however, a large sand cay in the north
and several smaller banks along the western side of the lagoon become
exposed." |
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