Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve

Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve is a former marine protected area consisting of waters around Elizabeth and Middleton reefs located at the south-eastern end of the Coral Sea Islands, an Australian territory in the Coral Sea.

The reefs sit atop a feature known as the Lord Howe Rise — a ridge of volcanic origins that runs from New Zealand northwest across the Tasman Sea.

They are protected by the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, covering 1,880 km2.

The reserve was proclaimed in 1987 to protect the two reefs' important and fragile marine ecosystems, as well as with the aim of conserving the rare and endangered Black Cod (Epinephelus daemelli).

Its cay, known as The Sound, measures 100 m by 70 m. Its shallow lagoon has a sandy to silty bottom that contains numerous patch reefs and areas of coral pavement.

Elizabeth Reef image from NASA Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project
Middleton Reef image from NASA Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project