Bigger than 70 million football fields, The Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing on Earth visible from outer space.
- The Great Barrier Reef spans over 2,300 kilometres (roughly the size of Japan) along our own Queensland coast in Australia. It begins in the north at the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, near the Torres Strait, and stretches south to just past Bundaberg.
- The current living reef began growing 8,000 years ago after the last ice age.
- The reef is bursting with life, with 1,600+ fish species, 1000+ coral types, 130+ varieties of sharks and rays, and 30+ whale/dolphin species calling it home.
- The Marine Park has over 900 islands and coral cays. It even has huge seagrass meadows that endangered dugongs feed on.
- From shallow estuarine areas to deep oceanic waters, the reef varies greatly in depth. All the way from an average depth of 35 metres in inshore waters, down to depths of more than 2000 metres on outer reefs.
- If you thought corals were rocks or plants, you might be surprised to learn they’re actually animals! There are hard and soft coral types, which live together in large groups called colonies.
- Some corals can create their own fluorescent sunscreen to protect themselves from harsh sun rays in shallow water.
- Like corals, clams are alive and some giant clams live over 100 years and can weigh over 200 kilograms. They have hundreds of tiny eyes along their edges that allow them to sense light and movement.
