Darwin believed that fringing reefs are the first kind of reefs to form around a landmass in a long-term reef growth process.
Great Barrier Reef | reef | Reef | Reef (band) | Middleton Reef | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park | Elizabeth Reef | Donovan's Reef | Blacktip reef shark | Whitetip reef shark | Tubbataha Reef | Spectacle Reef Light | Reef Islands | Merensky Reef | Jack's Reef, New York | Jack's Reef | Into the Blue 2: The Reef | Grey reef shark | Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary | fringing reef | ''Felimare picta'' at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary | Capitol Reef National Park | Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument | The Reef (2010 film) | The Reef | Robbins Reef Light | Reef triggerfish | Reef knot | Nelscott Reef | Great Astrolabe Reef |
It encompasses over one hundred small, mangrove-fringed cayes, benthic habitats comprising soft-bottom seagrass beds and fringing reefs.
Because it is endowed with a fringing reef, Rūrutu has in recent years become known for whale watching: Humpback whales come and reproduce here between July and October within easy sighting distance from the beach.