Coral Sea | Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia | Britannica (original) (raw)

Coral Sea, sea of the southwestern Pacific Ocean, extending east of Australia and New Guinea, west of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, and south of the Solomon Islands. It is about 1,400 miles (2,250 km) north-south and 1,500 miles east-west and covers an area of 1,849,800 square miles (4,791,000 square km). To the south it merges with the Tasman Sea, to the north with the Solomon Sea, and to the east with the Pacific; it is connected to the Arafura Sea (west) via the Torres Strait. North of latitude 20° S, the seafloor is dominated by the Coral Sea Plateau, which is marked north and south by the Osprey and Swain reefs. To the north of the plateau is the Coral Sea Basin. The South Solomon Trench reaches depths of 24,002 feet (7,316 m), and the New Hebrides Trench plunges to 25,134 feet.

The sea was named for its numerous coral formations, highlighted by the Great Barrier Reef, extending 1,200 miles (1,900 km) down the Australian northeast coast. Ocean shipping between eastern Australia and the South Pacific islands and China traverses the sea by way of a channel 200 miles (320 km) east of the reef. The sea has a subtropical climate and is subject to typhoons, especially from January to April. Economic resources include fisheries and petroleum deposits in the Gulf of Papua.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.