Cato Reef

Cato Reef, a part of Cato Bank, is a coral reef in the Coral Sea, off the central coast of Queensland, Australia.

Cato Bank measures approximately 21 by 13 km (13 by 8 mi) with an area of 200 km2 (77 sq mi). Water depth is typically less than 17 m (56 ft). As a part of Cato Bank, Cato Reef measures in at 3.3 by 1.8 km (2.1 by 1.1 mi), with an area of 5 km2 (2 sq mi). It includes a small, shallow lagoon that contains Cato Island, a low-relief cay in the west that is approximately 800 by 300 m (2,600 by 1,000 ft), with an area of 15 hectares (37 acres) and an altitude of 5.8 m (19 ft) . Close to the south-east corner of Cato Bank is Hutchison Rock, with one metre (3 ft) of water over it.

Cato Island (23°15′00″S 155°32′24″E), is a small oval-shaped island lying approximately 375 km (233 mi) east of Gladstone, Queensland, and about 270 km (170 mi) east-southeast of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. This island is approximately 115 km (71 mi) south of Bird Islet, a part of the east end of the Wreck Reefs. The island is a mound of coral debris and grit 5.8 m (19 ft) high, covered in grass and creepers up to 1 m (3 ft) high. An automatic weather station, with two radio masts and a silver-painted hut, stands on the island's northeast end. The island is almost entirely surrounded by reefs; three narrow boat passages cross the reefs on the northern side. The best entrance is the centre one, located 350 metres (1,150 ft) north of the eastern end of Cato Island; it has a conspicuous rock at half tide on its eastern side. The island lies on the western end of an oval-shaped reef enclosing a lagoon. The lagoon contains numerous coral heads. The sea breaks over the reef in all weather. The reef lies on Cato Bank, which falls away steeply on all sides. The coral reefs are built on the top of a large shield volcano, produced by eruptions of the Tasmantid Seamount Chain. Hutchison Rock, at approximately 23.250°S 155.565°E / -23.250; 155.565 (Hutchison Rock - Cato Island), with a depth of perhaps 1 m (3 ft), lies about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) east of Cato Island. Danger Patch lies near the outer end of the eastern ledge of Cato Bank. A tidal race is found between the eastern

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).