Banco Chinchorro
Banco Chinchorro is an atoll reef lying off the southeast coast of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco in Quintana Roo, Mexico, near Belize. It was featured throughout the 2009 semi-documentary film Alamar by Pedro González-Rubio. Geography
The reef lies in Mexican waters  offshore in the Caribbean Sea, or about  east of the city of Chetumal. It is approximately  long from north to south, and approximately  wide at its widest point. It covers an area of . The atoll has three islands, with an aggregate land area of :
Cayo Norte (actually two separate islets) (0.9 km²)
Cayo Centro (5.6 km²)
Cayo Lobos (southernmost) (0.2 km²)

The natural vegetation of the islands is largely mangrove near the shore shading into open woodland more than  from the shore. There is an American crocodile reserve on the southernmost (and biggest) island. The islands (in common with many isolated tropical islands) are thickly populated with small crabs, which are tame and can be trodden on inadvertently by visitors. Some of the islands are inhabited by fishermen, who live in stilt houses about  offshore to circumvent local regulations forbidding private construction. Shipwrecks
The reef is home to at least nine shipwrecks, including two Spanish Galleons. The names of the known wrecked ships are: SS Caldera, SS Escasell, SS Far Star, SS Ginger Screw, SS Glen View, SS Penelopez, SS San Andreas, and SS Tropic. There is also a large ferry from Cozumel that washed up on Chinchorro during Hurricane Wilma. References

External links

Ecosistema  Ayuntamiento de Othón P. Blanco

Biosphere reserves of Mexico
Atolls of Mexico
Islands of Quintana Roo
Underwater diving sites in Mexico
Protected areas of Quintana Roo
Ramsar sites in Mexico
Reefs of Mexico
World Heritage Tentative List for Mexico