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In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
 Daedalus Reef Lighthouse in 2009 | |
 | |
| Location | Marsa Alam, Red Sea, Egypt |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 24°55′24″N 35°51′30″E / 24.9233°N 35.8583°E |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1863 |
| Construction | Stone tower |
| Height | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Shape | Cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern rising from a 2-story building[1] |
| Markings | Tower painted in white and black horizontal bands |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1931 |
| Focal height | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Range | 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | Three white flashes every 12 s. |
Daedalus Reef (Arabic: أبو قيزان, romanized: Abu Kizan) is an isolated oceanic coral reef in the Egyptian Red Sea, located approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Marsa Alam and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Hurghada, at coordinates 24°55′24″N 35°51′30″E. The reef rises from a water depth of approximately 550 metres (1,800 ft) and its surface platform measures roughly 1,075 metres (3,527 ft) in length by 300 metres (984 ft) in width, bordered on all sides by near-vertical walls with dense coral growth. At its northern tip stands the operational Daedalus Reef Lighthouse, first constructed in 1863 and rebuilt in 1931.[2][3][4]
The reef is part of Egypt's Red Sea marine protected area network, governed by a legal framework founded on Law No. 102 of 1983[5] and most recently reinforced by Prime Minister's Decree No. 4419 of 2025, which designated the entire Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea as a marine protected area.[6][7] Daedalus Reef is internationally recognised for its pelagic marine biodiversity and is considered one of the premier shark-observation sites in the Red Sea, with up to eight species documented through systematic underwater surveys.[8]
Daedalus Reef lies in the offshore Egyptian Red Sea, well beyond the continental coastline of the Red Sea Governorate, making it one of the most remote navigational landmarks in the southern Red Sea shipping lanes. Its oceanic isolation, combined with exposure to prevailing Red Sea currents, defines both its ecological character and its significance as a navigational hazard.
The reef is recorded in the official navigation registers of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) under the identifier Admiralty D7296 (also referenced as D7296.1, formerly E6048),[3] and in the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) register as NGA 30492.[4] These designations constitute the canonical international references for the lighthouse marking the reef and are the identifiers used in the mandatory aids-to-navigation publications for professional seafarers.
The reef platform rises from a seabed at approximately 550 m (1,800 ft) depth. Its surface measures approximately 1,075 m × 300 m (3,527 ft × 984 ft), with edges that drop in sheer walls and steep slopes. The interaction between its bathymetry, open-ocean exposure and upwelling currents accounts for both its exceptional ecological productivity and its reputation among technical and recreational divers.
The Daedalus Reef Lighthouse — also known as Abu Kizan Lighthouse — is an active aid to navigation that has been in continuous operation since 1863. Its construction history reflects the strategic interest of nineteenth-century European powers in marking Red Sea routes in the context of the opening of the Suez Canal (1869).
The original tower was erected in 1863 under British initiative and financing. It was a conical cast-iron structure approximately 18 metres (59 ft) tall, painted red, equipped with a jetty of approximately 100 metres (328 ft) to allow sea access. The original optic was a second-order fixed lens manufactured by the British firm Chance Brothers.[4]
In 1931 the original tower was demolished and replaced by the current structure, built by the French company Barbier, Bénard et Turenne over a construction period of approximately one year and four months. The new stone tower was built on the original foundations and stands 30 metres (98 ft) tall. The reconstruction included a new jetty equipped with a railway track for materials transport. In 1993 the lighthouse underwent a maintenance and refurbishment programme.[4]
The active tower is cylindrical, built of stone masonry, with alternating white and black horizontal bands. It exhibits three white flashes every 12 seconds, with a nominal range of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).[2][3] Its current international identifiers are: ARLHS EGY-010, Admiralty D7296.1 (formerly E6048), and NGA 30492. The precise coordinates of the structure are 24.9328043347°N, 35.8702740112°E.[4]
The lighthouse is operated by the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety (EAMS), the Egyptian government body responsible for aids to navigation in national waters. The EAMS is the institutional successor to the Ports and Lighthouses Administration, established in 1919, which had overseen Red Sea lighthouses since 1905. It was constituted as an independent authority by Presidential Decree No. 399 of 2004.[2]
The legal protection of Daedalus Reef is embedded in a successive series of Egyptian legislative instruments spanning from the 1980s to the present, constituting one of the most consolidated marine conservation frameworks in the Red Sea.
The legal foundation for coral reef protection in Egypt is Law No. 102 of 1983 on natural reserves. The law defines natural reserves as land, coastal and inland water areas harbouring living organisms or natural phenomena of cultural, scientific or touristic value, a category that explicitly encompasses the coral reefs of the Red Sea and the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba.[5]
The law prohibits any activity harmful to the environment of the reserves, including hunting, fishing, destruction of corals and geological formations, introduction of alien matter, pollution of air, water or soil, and construction of any infrastructure without prior authorisation. Violations are punishable by fines of between EGP 500 and EGP 5,000 and imprisonment of up to one year, with higher penalties for repeat offences. The law also grants legally registered environmental associations standing to initiate proceedings before administrative and judicial bodies to enforce its provisions.[5]
Implementation responsibility was delegated to the Prime Minister by Presidential Decree No. 479 of 1983, who established the Environmental Affairs Organ within the Council of Ministers (Order No. 1067 of 1983) as the executive body responsible for coordinating reserve management, maintaining species inventories and administering a dedicated conservation fund financed through visitor fees, fines and donations.[5]
Building on Law No. 102/1983, a succession of Council of Ministers decrees progressively strengthened protection of the Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea. The complete regulatory chain comprises Decrees No. 102 (1983), No. 450 (1986), No. 143 (2003), No. 1618 (2006), and, most recently, Decree No. 4419 of 2025, signed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, which declared the Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea — a reef system extending more than 2,000 kilometres (1,240 mi) — a fully designated marine protected area with official cartographic delimitation.[6][7] Responsibility for implementing the decree was assigned to the governors of the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates.[6]
At the international level, the reef system was designated a Hope Spot in 2022 by the Mission Blue / Sylvia Earle Alliance, a non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the United Nations. The designation was announced during COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The Hope Spot champion is Professor Mahmoud Hanafy of Suez Canal University and chief scientist of HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association). The reef system has been identified by the international scientific programme 50 Reefs as among the coral reefs with the highest climate tolerance worldwide.[7]
As a marine protected area, the reef is subject to specific regulations on recreational use. Night diving and snorkelling are restricted in certain zones.[9] All diving activities are conducted under the supervision of certified dive guides, and access is governed by marine park regulations. Scientific monitoring data from 2008 recorded an average of 105.74 divers and 6.11 vessels per dive survey, making Daedalus the highest-traffic site among those studied in the southern Red Sea.[8]
Daedalus Reef is widely recognised in the scientific literature and the international diving community as one of the most significant aggregation sites for large pelagic species in the Red Sea. Its oceanographic conditions — oceanic isolation, immediately adjacent deep water, upwelling currents and prey abundance — favour the regular congregation of open-water shark species.
A systematic study conducted between 2006 and 2010 through direct observation during recreational dives —comprising 27 dives, 31 hours of survey effort and 26 shark encounters at Daedalus— recorded a total of eight shark species at the reef:[8]
The encounter rate at Daedalus was 0.84 per dive hour and 2.35 individual sharks per dive hour, the highest rate recorded across all sites surveyed in the southern Red Sea during the study period.[8]
The same study documented specific behavioural patterns at Daedalus Reef. Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) consistently retreated to deeper water in response to noise generated by divers. The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) displayed persistent inquisitive behaviour and was recorded in at least two incidents of aggressive conduct towards divers: on 4 June 2008 and 17 September 2008, in both cases without serious injury.[8]
In addition to large pelagics, the reef supports a rich benthic and reef-associated community. Species regularly documented at the site include the humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), sea turtles, manta rays, great barracuda, tunas, groupers, giant moray eels, and a range of reef fish including anthias, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and angelfish. A notable feature of the southern platform is the formation known as Anemoni City, an approximately 15-metre (49 ft) expanse of sea anemones hosting associated clownfish colonies.
The Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea, of which Daedalus forms part, harbours more than 1,200 fish species and over 300 coral species, many endemic to the Red Sea.[7] The international scientific programme 50 Reefs has identified this reef system as among the most thermally resilient coral reef ecosystems globally, making it a conservation priority in the context of climate change.[7]
Daedalus Reef is accessible exclusively via liveaboard vessel departing from Hurghada or Marsa Alam, owing to its distance from shore. Access to the reef is regulated within the framework of the Red Sea marine park.
The reef offers three principal diving areas:
Maximum recommended depth is 30–40 metres (98–131 ft). Visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres (98 ft). Currents can be strong and unpredictable, particularly at the northern tip, requiring advanced buoyancy and current-management skills. A minimum certification of PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or equivalent) with at least 50 logged dives is recommended; a Nitrox specialty is advised to extend bottom time. Variable currents and full oceanic exposure classify Daedalus as an advanced to technical-level dive site.
Seasonal dynamics significantly influence species composition at the reef. The period from late summer through autumn (September–November) is associated with higher concentrations of oceanic whitetip sharks and pelagic thresher sharks,[8] as well as more regular shallow-water sightings of scalloped hammerheads. Manta rays are more frequently recorded in winter and spring. Summer upwelling currents enhance planktonic productivity, sustaining the pelagic food chain that supports the reef's large predator assemblage.
24°55′42″N 35°51′42″E / 24.92833°N 35.86167°E
| Geographic | |
|---|---|
| Daedalus Reef Lighthouse | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Daedalus Reef (Arabic: أبو قيزان, romanized: Abu Kizan) is an isolated oceanic coral reef in the Egyptian Red Sea, located approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Marsa Alam and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Hurghada, at coordinates 24°55′24″N 35°51′30″E. The reef rises from a water depth of approximately 550 metres (1,800 ft) and its surface platform measures roughly 1,075 metres (3,527 ft) in length by 300 metres (984 ft) in width, bordered on all sides by near-vertical walls with dense coral growth. At its northern tip stands the operational Daedalus Reef Lighthouse, first constructed in 1863 and rebuilt in 1931. The reef is part of Egypt's Red Sea marine protected area network, governed by a legal framework founded on Law No. 102 of 1983 and most recently reinforced by Prime Minister's Decree No. 4419 of 2025, which designated the entire Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea as a marine protected area. Daedalus Reef is internationally recognised for its pelagic marine biodiversity and is considered one of the premier shark-observation sites in the Red Sea, with up to eight species documented through systematic underwater surveys.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 mi2). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is separated from the coast by a channel 160 kilometres (100 mi) wide in places and over 61 metres (200 ft) deep. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN labelled it one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 1997. Australian World Heritage places included it in its list in 2007. The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland in 2006. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff of humanmade pollutants, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, dumping of dredging sludge and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. According to a study published in October 2012 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985, a finding reaffirmed by a 2020 study which found over half of the reef's coral cover to have been lost between 1995 and 2017, with the effects of a widespread 2020 bleaching event not yet quantified. The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. Tourism is an important economic activity for the region, generating over AUD$3 billion per year. In November 2014, Google launched Google Underwater Street View in 3D of the Great Barrier Reef. A March 2016 report stated that coral bleaching was more widespread than previously thought, seriously affecting the northern parts of the reef as a result of warming ocean temperatures. In October 2016, Outside published an obituary for the reef; the article was criticised for being premature and hindering efforts to bolster the resilience of the reef. In March 2017, the journal Nature published a paper showing that huge sections of an 800-kilometre (500 mi) stretch in the northern part of the reef had died in the course of 2016 of high water temperatures, an event that the authors put down to the effects of global climate change. The percentage of baby corals being born on the Great Barrier Reef dropped drastically in 2018 and scientists are describing it as the early stage of a "huge natural selection event unfolding". Many of the mature breeding adults died in the bleaching events of 2016–17, leading to low coral birth rates. The types of corals that reproduced also changed, leading to a "long-term reorganisation of the reef ecosystem if the trend continues." The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) stipulates an Outlook Report on the Reef's health, pressures, and future every five years. The last report was published in 2019. In March 2022, another mass bleaching event has been confirmed, which raised further concerns about the future of this reef system, especially when considering the possible effects of El Niño weather phenomenon. The Australian Institute of Marine Science conducts annual surveys of the Great Barrier Reef's status, and the 2022 report showed the greatest recovery in 36 years. It is mainly due to the regrowth of two-thirds of the reef by the fast-growing Acropora coral, which is the dominant coral there.
An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote marine life, it may be intended to control erosion, protect coastal areas, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, support reef restoration, improve aquaculture, or enhance scuba diving and surfing. Early artificial reefs were built by the Persians and the Romans. An opportunity artificial reef is built from objects that were intended for other purposes, such as sinking oil rigs (through the Rigs-to-Reefs program), scuttling ships, or by deploying rubble or construction debris. Shipwrecks may become artificial reefs when preserved on the seafloor. A conventional artificial reef uses materials such as concrete, which can be molded into specialized forms (e.g. reef balls). Green artificial reefs incorporate renewable and organic materials such as vegetable fibres and seashells to improve sustainability and reduce energy consumption, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. In some cases, artificial reefs have been developed as artworks. Artificial reefs generally provide hard surfaces where algae and invertebrates such as barnacles, corals, and oysters attach and spaces where different sizes of fishes can hide. The accumulation of attached marine life in turn provides intricate structures and food for assemblages of fish. The ecological impact of an artificial reef depends on multiple factors including where it is situated, how it is constructed, and the ages and types of species involved. While the artificial reefs allow for coral growth, it changes the ecosystem as the relative growth for different species is not always the same. Studies have found that macroalgal, cyanobacterial groups, and coral that are fast growing, grow in artificial reefs at different rates than they would grow in natural reefs. Considerable research is being done into construction methods and the effects of artificial reefs. Many of the materials used early on are now considered undesirable. A 2001 literature review suggested that about half of the reefs studied met their objectives. Long-term planning and ongoing management were identified as essential factors in success. A more recent analysis of reefs world wide between 1990 and 2020 concludes that artificial reefs can be useful tools for restoring marine ecosystems if they are strategically designed to suit their specific location and its resource needs.
The Tubbataha Natural Park, also known as the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Filipino: Bahurang Tubbataha), is a protected area of the Philippines located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. The marine and bird sanctuary consists of two huge atolls (named the North Atoll and South Atoll) and the smaller Jessie Beazley Reef covering a total area of 97,030 hectares (239,800 acres; 374.6 sq mi). It is located 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast of Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. The uninhabited islands and reefs are part of the island municipality of Cagayancillo, located roughly 130 kilometers (81 mi) to the northeast of the reef. In December 1993, the UNESCO declared the Tubbataha Reefs National Park as a World Heritage Site as a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species; the North Islet serving as a nesting site for birds and marine turtles. The site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100-m perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons and two coral islands. In 1999, Ramsar listed Tubbataha as one of the wetlands of international importance. In 2008, the reef was nominated at New7Wonders of Nature. The national park and the rest of the Philippine archipelago is part of the Coral Triangle, recognized as a center of marine biodiversity containing 75% of the described coral species and 40% of the world's reef fish. The area is under a grave threat due to overfishing and destructive fishing practices. Research of scientists visiting the reefs since the 1980s revealed that the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park contains no less than 600 fish species, 360 coral species, 11 shark species, 13 dolphin and whale species, and 100 bird species. The reefs also serve as a nesting ground for Hawksbill and Green sea turtles.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
