The most striking thing about Cubbarros is the nearly untouched pristine reef where endangered species grow large and healthy, and undiscovered marine life abounds. Although it’s only fiction, there are such places left on Earth.

Sadly, around 25% of the world’s coral reefs are gone, and almost all underwater habitats are threatened in some way by human activities. But there remain some places that still give us a glimpse of what a healthy ocean should look like.

Cubbarros was modeled after one such place. Los Jardines de la Reina which means the Queen’s garden is a reef off of Cuba where commercial fishing has been limited and there is little runoff from the land.

Here’s where author Kara Lynn first learned about it:

12 minute video segment from the TV news magazine 60-Minutes with Anderson Cooper

Peter Benchley’s article in National Geographic about that same expedition with Anderson Cooper