7 Things You Should Know About Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
iStockAn aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef — which is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia — is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Scientists are worried about its future. Here are seven reasons why you should care about it.
1. It’s Big — In Fact, the Biggest in the World
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. Stretching across an area of more than 133,000 square miles, the GBR encompasses more than 900 islands and 2,900 individual reefs. It is the world’s largest structure made of living organisms — and it can be seen from space.
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2. It’s Coral Crazy
Corals are the building materials of a reef. The sheer diversity of coral present in the Great Barrier Reef is staggering; there are more than 600 types of coral — both hard and soft — that make up the Great Barrier Reef.
Patricia WuestA view of Heron Island taken from a helicopter. As of 1996, 27 islands on the Great Barrier Reef supported resorts.
3. Why It’s Worth Protecting
The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. GBR tourism-related activities — including scuba diving — generate over AUD$3 billion per year.
4. One Fish, Two Fish, 1,500 Species of Fish
The reef is home to a staggering 1,500 species of fish, from the beautiful clownfish to several endangered species of snapper and coral trout.
5. Need Directions?
In November 2014, Google launched Google Underwater Street View in 3D of the Great Barrier Reef.
Ty SawyerThe humphead wrasse species can be found on the GBR.
6. It’s Old — As in Thousands of Years Old
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reports that the earliest evidence of complete reef structures was about 600,000 years ago. Generation after generation of corals have made the reef their home, adding layer after layer to the massive structure. The remains of an ancient barrier reef similar to the Great Barrier Reef can be found in The Kimberley, Western Australia.
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7. It’s in Serious Trouble
A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism, but the GBR is in serious trouble. Environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
iStockSix of the world’s seven species of sea turtles can be found in the waters around the Great Barrier Reef.
