Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef, located on the east coast of Australia.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/ The reef features hundreds of tropical islands and is home to an abundance of marine life that lives in and around its 3000 plus individual reef systems and coral cays.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/ Being larger than the Great Wall of China, it is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and the only living thing on Earth visible from space.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php Stretching over 1800 miles (3000 kilometres) along the Queensland coast, the reef is 40 miles (65 kilometres) wide in some parts.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php

The Great Barrier Reef has more than 1500 species of tropical fish and the largest collection of coral, with more than 400 kinds. It is a breeding area for humpback whales and home to dolphins, rays, birds, reptiles (such as turtles and giant clams) and endangered species such as the dugong (or sea cow) and large green sea turtle.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php The natural beauty of the reef and its inhabitants saw it listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, and it continues to be a sought-after tourist destination.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php About 820 tourism operators and 1500 sea vessels and aircraft were permitted to operate in the Great Barrier Reef marine park in 2006.http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php

While the Great Barrier Reef may be 500,000 years old, it is relatively young compared to the world's first coral reefs that were formed about 500 million years ago.http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-great-barrier-reef/coralfacts.htm It is composed of about 3000 individual reefs and comes close to the Australian mainland at the northern end.http://www.reef.crc.org.au/discover/coralreefs/coralgbr.html The structure of the current Great Barrier Reef is 8000 years old and continues to grow on top of underlying reefs formed during higher sea levels.http://www.reef.crc.org.au/discover/coralreefs/coralgbr.html

• Some shells - helmet shells, triton shells, tridacnid clams
• Some fish - seahorses, pipefish, sea dragons, potato cod, Queensland grouper, barramundi cod, Maori wrasse, all groupers (Epinephelus) more than 100cm
• Some sharks - whale shark, grey nurse shark, great white shark, freshwater and green sawfish
• Sea snakes
• Crocodiles
• Marine turtles
• Birds
• Seals
• Whales
• Dolphins
• Dugongshttp://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/conservation/natural_values