Scorpion Reef is a reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

, located in the Campeche Bank

Campeche Bank

Campeche Bank is part of the Gulf of Mexico and extends from the Yucatan Straits in the east to the Tabasco-Campeche Basin in the west.Among the reefs with islets on Campeche Bank are Cayos Arcas in the southwest and Arrecife Alacran in the north....

 (22.450°N 89.700°W). It is the largest reef in the Southern Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. The reef contains five vegetated islands; Isla Pérez

Isla Pérez

Isla Pérez is an island located in the Gulf of Mexico, 130 km north of Progreso, Mexico, off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It belongs to the Arrecife Alacranes National Park, and is the largest island in the archipelago....

, Isla Desertora, Isla Pájaros, Isla Chica and Isla Desterrada. Isla Pérez is the only inhabited island, and also is the site of a lighthouse. The reef is a national park in Mexico, and was decreed a "Reserve of the Biosphere" by the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

in 1994.