Lagoon facts for kids

Satellite view of Chesil Beach (line in blue running diagonally NW-SE) from Abbotsbury to the Isle of Portland. Between the land and the beach is the Fleet lagoon

A lagoon is a body of salt water partly separated from the sea. There is usually some sort of barrier which separates and protects the lagoon. This may be a pebble or shingle beach, sand bank, or perhaps a coral reef surrounding an atoll. An atoll is an oceanic island formed by a volcano.

Lagoon refers both to coastal lagoons, and the lagoons in atolls, formed by the growth of coral reefs on slowly eroding central islands.

Chesil Beach, the Fleet and the Isle of Portland, from the north-west over Abbotsbury
Blaketown Lagoon, New Zealand: it is connected to the sea.
Fangataufa is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its lagoon is about 5km by 8 km. The whole atoll is about 9.5 km by 9.5km, with a landmass of about 5 km²
Kara-Bogas-Gol in Turkmenistan

Images for kids

Balos coastal lagoon of northwestern Crete. The shallow lagoon is separated from the Mediterranean sea by narrow shoals connecting to a small, rocky mountain.
Garabogaz-Göl lagoon in Turkmenistan
Venetian Lagoon
Satellite picture of the Atafu atoll in Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean
Anzali Lagoon in southwestern Caspian Sea coast, Iran
Coastal lagoon landscapes around the island of Hiddensee near Stralsund, Germany. Many similar coastal lagoons can be found around the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.
Photo of Mar Menor as seen from International Space Station.

Lagoon facts for kids

Images for kids

See also