It is located 106 kilometres (57 nmi; 66 mi) southeast of Nikumaroro, at 05°34′S 173°51′W / 5.567°S 173.850°W / -5.567; -173.850, and has a least depth of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).

According to Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern, a Captain Kemin of an unidentified ship reported the discovery of a reef in position 05°38′S 172°54′W / 5.633°S 172.900°W / -5.633; -172.900 in 1824, and this may have been the first sighting of Carondelet Reef by a Westerner.

The next Westerner to see it may have been Captain Obed Starbuck of the Nantucket whaler Loper, who reported a "reef of rocks" at position 05°29′S 175°01′W / 5.483°S 175.017°W / -5.483; -175.017 on February 19, 1826.

[2][3] During a voyage from Puget Sound to Australia, Captain Wilder Farley Stetson (1849–1924) of the ship Carondelet sighted a reef on August 31, 1898, from position 05°35′S 173°58′W / 5.583°S 173.967°W / -5.583; -173.967.

The reef is part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, an underwater nature reserve.