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Geography

The Mechanisms Behind the Formation of Atolls and Guyots

Quick fact

Charles Darwin first proposed the subsidence theory of atoll formation in 1842, correctly explaining how a fringing reef around a volcanic island becomes a barrier reef and finally an atoll as the island sinks.

Why this is interesting

You've seen pictures of tropical atolls—perfect rings of coral around a blue lagoon. But did you know the same process that creates these rings also produces flat-topped underwater mountains called guyots?