1.   Just offshore lies the Belize Barrier Reef, the longest reef formation in the Western Hemisphere.

2.   We swam in waterfalls and splashed in pools in reef formations on the beach that emerge as the tide ebbs, producing a whirlpool-bath effect.

3.   Australian National University geology researcher Bradley Opdyke, who was part of the research team, said chemical reactions were endangering even underwater reef formations.

4.   Quarried limestone boulders were a near-perfect substitute for natural reef formation, Hudson said.