Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)

The blue mangrove of Raja Ampat

  Indonesia: Raja Ampat + Bali - March 2012

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text: 


In Indonesia, in the Papuan archipelago of Raja AmpatCoral grows at the foot of the mangroves. A unique mixture of terrestrial and underwater life.

Blue water mangrove

It is called "blue water mangrove or "blue mangrovethe blue mangrove. In a few meters of water, life forms that are rarely seen side by side mingle: sea coral and tree roots.

The roots of trees plunge into salt water. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
The roots of the trees plunge into the salt water (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
We admire the corals, in less than 2 meters of water, in palms-mask-tuba. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
We admire the corals, in less than 2 meters of water, with snorkels (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)

Usually, mangroves develop rather on funds covered with terrestrial sediments, often very muddy, in coastal zones or near the mouth of rivers. The water is generally quite turbid.

But the labyrinths formed by the karst islands of Raja Ampat, in Indonesian Papua, offer a different type of mangrove: the water remains clear and the bottom is sandy, more maritime than terrestrial.

Corals and gorgonians can be seen developing there, right next to the trees!

Dead leaves and roots mingle with coral. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Dead leaves and roots mingle with coral. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
An imposing orange gorgon has developed just under the vegetation. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
An imposing orange gorgonian has developed just under the vegetation. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)

To discover in snorkeling

Underwater, the atmosphere is truly magical! Little current, shallow depth: it is an enchantment for snorkelers (swimmers in fins-mask-tuba).

When we raise our heads, we realize that we are under the foliage of trees, a kind of mangrove, whose roots plunge under the salt water.

All in the water to explore the blue mangrove! (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Everyone in the water to explore the blue mangrove (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
A world at once aquatic and vegetal. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
A world at once aquatic and vegetal. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Coral is proliferating in the shade of mangroves. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Coral proliferates in the shade of mangroves. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
A dead trunk lies beneath the surface next to a coral potato. (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
A dead trunk lies below the surface next to a coral spud (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)

For me, it was the perfect place for "half air half water" pictures. But I must admit, I had a hard time: I am not good at snorkeling at all.

I find it easier to photograph by bottle diving, immersed under water, well weighted and stabilized with the weights and the BCD (inflatable vest). On the surface, you are tossed around by the swell, even if it is small... Not always easy to frame and adjust your settings at the moment of shooting.

But these few images still capture the magic of the place, unique in its kind.

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More to read:

→ All my dives in Raja Ampat since 2012

→ Raja Ampat: practical information to organize your trip

  Indonesia: Raja Ampat + Bali - March 2012

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