| Carondelet Reef | |
|---|---|
 Location of Phoenix Islands | |
| Summit depth | 1.8 metres |
| Location | |
| Location | centralPacific Ocean |
| Group | Phoenix Islands |
| Coordinates | 05°34′S173°51′W / 5.567°S 173.850°W /-5.567; -173.850 |
| Country | Kiribati |
| Geology | |
| Type | Reef |
| History | |
| Discovery date | August 31, 1898 |
| Discovered by | Capt. Wilder F. Stetson |
Carondelet Reef is a horseshoe-shapedreef, presumably a submergedatoll formation, of thePhoenix Islands, also known as the Rawaki Islands, in the Republic ofKiribati. It is located 106 kilometres (57 nmi; 66 mi) southeast ofNikumaroro, at05°34′S173°51′W / 5.567°S 173.850°W /-5.567; -173.850, and has a least depth of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft). It is reported to be approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) in length.[1] The sea occasionally breaks over it.
According toAdmiralAdam Johann von Krusenstern, aCaptain Kemin of an unidentified ship reported the discovery of a reef in position05°38′S172°54′W / 5.633°S 172.900°W /-5.633; -172.900 in 1824, and this may have been the first sighting of Carondelet Reef by aWesterner. The next Westerner to see it may have been Captain Obed Starbuck of theNantucketwhalerLoper, who reported a "reef of rocks" at position05°29′S175°01′W / 5.483°S 175.017°W /-5.483; -175.017 on February 19, 1826.[2][3]
During a voyage fromPuget Sound toAustralia, Captain Wilder Farley Stetson (1849–1924) of the shipCarondelet sighted a reef on August 31, 1898, from position05°35′S173°58′W / 5.583°S 173.967°W /-5.583; -173.967. He was within 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) of it and considered it very dangerous. He named it Carondelet Reef, after his ship.
The multiple positions ofWinslow Reef mentioned byRobert Louis Stevenson may have been due to confusion of the position of Carondelet Reef with that of Winslow Reef.
The reef is part of thePhoenix Islands Protected Area, an underwater nature reserve.
