Reefs in Strangford Lough vary from tide-swept bedrock and large boulders in the main channel of the Narrows, through sand-scoured bedrock and boulders at either end of the channel, to more sheltered bedrock and boulders in the main central portion of the Lough and in parts of the intertidal. Beds of horse mussels Modiolus modiolus form extensive biogenic reefs within the central portion of the Lough.