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The Coral Sea is a marginal sea
Marginal sea

A marginal sea is a part of ocean partially enclosed by Landform such as islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas. Unlike mediterranean sea s, marginal seas have ocean currents caused by ocean winds....
 off the north-east coast of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately ....
, in the east by Vanuatu
Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands, near New Zealand....
 (formerly the New Hebrides
New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the Pacific Ocean that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the United Kingdom and France in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands....
) and by New Caledonia
New Caledonia

New Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the Oceania. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands....
, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands

For the group of islands rather than the nation, see Solomon Islands .The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands....
.






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Coral Sea Islands
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea
Marginal sea

A marginal sea is a part of ocean partially enclosed by Landform such as islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas. Unlike mediterranean sea s, marginal seas have ocean currents caused by ocean winds....
 off the north-east coast of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately ....
, in the east by Vanuatu
Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands, near New Zealand....
 (formerly the New Hebrides
New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the Pacific Ocean that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the United Kingdom and France in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands....
) and by New Caledonia
New Caledonia

New Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the Oceania. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands....
, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands

For the group of islands rather than the nation, see Solomon Islands .The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands....
. South of it is the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately 2000 kilometres across. It extends 2800 km from north to south....
.

While the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately ....
 with its islands and cays belong to Queensland, most reefs and islets east of it are part of the Coral Sea Islands Territory. In addition, some islands west of and belonging to New Caledonia
New Caledonia

New Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the subregion of Melanesia in the Oceania. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands....
 are also part of the Coral Sea Islands in a geographical sense, such as the Chesterfield Islands
Chesterfield Islands

File:Karta NC Iles Chesterfield.PNGFile:IlesChesterfield 250m.jpgChesterfield Islands is an archipelago of New Caledonia located in the Coral Sea, 550 km North West of Grande Terre the main island of New Caledonia....
 and Bellona Reefs.

The Coral Sea Basin
Basin (geology)

A structural basin is a large-scale structural formation of rock strata formed by tectonic warping of previously flat lying stratum. Structural basins are geological depressions, and are the inverse of dome s....
 was formed between 58 million - 48 million years ago because the Queensland continental shelf was uplifted, forming the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the 4th longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan_Island,_Queensland off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria...
, and continental blocks subsided at the same time.

The Coral Sea is ecologically an important source of coral for the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately ....
, both during its formation and after sea level lowering.

History

The sea was the location for a major confrontation during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 between the navies of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

See also

Louisiade Archipelago
*USS Coral Sea (aircraft carrier)
USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

USS Coral Sea , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of the Coral Sea. She earned the affectionate nickname "Ageless Warrior" through her long career....
  • Coral Sea Islands
    Coral Sea Islands

    The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia....


Further reading

  • —article on 2009 documentary, Mysteries of the Shark Coast, part of a "greater plan to extend the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef to the Coral Sea [the Osprey Reef] and, in turn, protect the [grey reef and whitetip] sharks that call this region home."