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Shoals

 
Shoals are submerged ridges, banks or bars covered by or made up of loose sediment that are close enough to the surface of water to be a hazard to shipping.

Details
Today, shoals are defined by international maritime convention as any sandbank or similar hazard lying at a depth of less than twenty meters.

By the eighteenth century, mariners also used the term shoals to describe large numbers of fish or aquatic mammals swimming together.

 

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Prepared by: Turnbull, P
Created: 4 October 2001
Modified: 10 October 2001

Published by South Seas, 1 February 2004
Comments, questions, corrections and additions: Paul.Turnbull@utas.edu.au
Prepared by: Paul Turnbull
Updated: 28 June 2004
To cite this page use: href="paul.turnbull/project/southseas/companion/P000063

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