NUAGES MER DE CORAIL
La mer de Corail est une zone située par-delà la côte nord-est de l'Australie, possédant une chaîne d'îles non habitées du même nom, incluant les îles Willis, Coringa et Tregosse. La mer de Corail est nommée ainsi en raison de sa principale caractéristique, la grande barrière de corail, qui est le plus grand récif corallien du monde. La faune sous-marine y est très riche.
Elle est grossièrement délimitée par l'Australie à l'ouest, les îles Salomon au nord, Vanuatu à l'est et la Nouvelle-Calédonie au sud. Elle communique avec la mer d'Arafura à l'ouest au travers du détroit de Torres entre l'Australie et la Nouvelle-Guinée et s'ouvre au nord-ouest sur la mer des Salomon.
Le territoire des Îles de la mer de Corail est une propriété de l'Australie, administrée de Canberra par le Département Australien de l'Environnement.
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The Coral Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion.
It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) and by New Caledonia, and in the northeast approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands. In the northwest, it reaches to the south coast of eastern New Guinea, thereby including the Gulf of Papua. It merges with the Tasman Sea in the south, with the Solomon Sea in the north and with the Pacific Ocean in the east. On the west, it is bounded by the mainland coast of Queensland, and in the northwest, it connects with the Arafura Sea through the Torres Strait.
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The Coral Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion.
It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) and by New Caledonia, and in the northeast approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands. In the northwest, it reaches to the south coast of eastern New Guinea, thereby including the Gulf of Papua. It merges with the Tasman Sea in the south, with the Solomon Sea in the north and with the Pacific Ocean in the east. On the west, it is bounded by the mainland coast of Queensland, and in the northwest, it connects with the Arafura Sea through the Torres Strait.
The sea is characterised by its warm and stable climate, with frequent rains and tropical cyclones. It contains numerous islands and reefs, as well as the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. All previous oil exploration projects were terminated at the GBR in 1975, and fishing is restricted in many areas. The reefs and islands of the Coral Sea are particularly rich in birds and aquatic life and are a popular tourist destination, both nationally and internationally.