Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and most complex reef system in the world and one of the most complex and biodiverse natural systems on Earth. The Reef covers an area of 344 400 square kilometres. It is made up of thousands of individual coral reefs and hundreds of island and coral cays. The reef has over 1500 species of fish, 400 species of coral, 4000 species of mollusc, 800 species of echinoderm and 240 species of birds. It stretches more than 2000 km along the North-East coast of Australia and is one of the only natural structures that can be seen from the moon.

It has waters with alluring hues of turquoise and aqua marine, an undersea world of colours that artists only ever dream about. The Great Barrier Reef is of such great condition that it was listed by the World Heritage Trust as a protected site which means it is managed and taken care of by the Great Barrier Reef marine authority to make sure that its beauty is maintained for many more generations to come. As we hope!

Visitors in thier thousands come to admire the beautiful scenery and the spectacular sight. More than 2,000,000 people visit the reef each year generating more than $AU 2 billion in tourism dollars, making tourism a major earner for the north-eastern Australian economy.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2300 kilometres. It is a series of reefs and islands. It contains about 2900 individual reefs, 618 continental islands
And 300 small sand islands which are called coral cays.

The reef is built on a foundation of coral which is a hard substance made of limestone. Coral provides many things to animals living in a coral reef. It usually is shelter to the small fish, also a hiding place for predators or even food for some animals.

The Great Barrier Reef, according to scientists, has existed for more than
18 million years. However, the current coral there is much younger, dating back only 18 000 years

Corals make up various reefs & cays. These are the basis for the...