The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral system on the planet Earth. It consists of 2900 Reefs and includes 9 thousand islands. The total area of the islands is about 2,300 kilometers. The total area covered by the reef is 344,400 sq km in the Coral Sea, which is located off the coast of Queensland in Australia. Let’s get acquainted with the most interesting facts about it.
Why is the Great Barrier Reef so special?
It Contains around 1000 varieties of soft and hard corals, More than 100 species of jellyfish, 3000 varieties of Molluscs, 700 species of worms, 1625 types of fish, 133 varieties of sharks, and rays, and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.
The Great barrier reef information:
1. The Great Barrier Reef is marked as one of the world’s great natural wonders and It is the largest reef in the world.
2. Outer reef scuba diving and island day trips are some of the more common pastimes on the reef along with scenic flights and rain forest tours to Kuranda and the Daintree rain forest.
3. Covers 344,400 km2 in area.
4. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem.
The Great Barrier reef location:
1. The Great Barrier Reef spread from the northern tip of Queensland to north-eastern Australia.
2. The width is between 60 and 250 kilometers.
3. It has an average depth of 35 meters in its inshore waters, while on outer reefs, continental slopes extend down to depths of more than 2000 meters.
4. For Our Assumption, we can take the area about 700 million football ground size, Area about 344,400 square km.
5. The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1981.
All you should know about the Great Barrier Reef :
Reefs can increase in diameter by 1 to 3 cm per year, and grow vertically anywhere from 1 to 25 cm per year; but, they grow only above a depth of 150 meters, due to their need for sunlight, and the Reef cannot grow above sea level.
1. The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area has been divided into 70 bioregions, of which 30 are reef bioregions.
2. Outside Magazine once published an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef, telling readers that the iconic coral reef system “died after a long illness.
3. The good news is that the article was grossly exaggerated: the Great Barrier Reef isn’t dead yet.
4. CNN has named the Great Barrier Reef one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
5. The Great Barrier Reef has been known for a long time and is used by Australian aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders who have lived in the region for tens of thousands of years. The Australian government even recognizes these tribal groups as the ” traditional owners of the reef.
6. The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by the Crown of thorns starfish, or acanthaster. This large starfish with numerous sharp needles feeds on polyps of reef-forming corals.
7. There is a sunken ship under the reef. The passenger ship SS Yongala was destroyed by a tropical hurricane on or about March 23, 1911. As a result of the shipwreck, all 122 people on board were killed. The wreckage of the sunken ship is now home to numerous sea creatures.
8. Most of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Founded in 1975 by the Australian government, the national park helps protect coral reefs and limit the impact of human use.
9. While the average depth of the coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef ranges around 35 meters, the slope from the continental shelf descends to a depth of more than 2 kilometers.
10. The hard corals that act as the backbone of the Great Barrier Reef are growing at a tiny rate — just 1.5 cm per year.
Marine species in Great Barrier Reef :
1. The Great Barrier Reef supports a diversity of life, including many vulnerable or endangered species, some of which may be endemic to the reef system.
2. Nearly 30 types of species whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef.
3. 1,500 fish species live on the reef, including the clownfish, red bass, red-throat emperor, and several species of snapper and coral trout.
4. 50 types of species mass spawn, while eighty-four other species spawn elsewhere in their range.
The Great Barrier reef facts:
1. 70 species of sea snake live on the Great Barrier Reef in warm waters up to 50 meters.
2. Saltwater crocodiles live in mangroves and salt marshes on the coast near the reef.
3. Around 125 species of shark, stingray, skates, or chimera live on the reef.
4. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions, by tourism the country is getting about 3.5 billion dollars per year.
6 Unknown Facts about the Great Barrier Reef :
1. In 1981, UNESCO declared the Great Barrier Reef a World Heritage Site, stating that it is “the greatest natural beauty above and below water level, representing some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth.”
2. Being extremely popular with tourists, the Great Barrier Reef generated $ 6.4 billion in tourism revenue in 2013, creating jobs for more than 64,000 people.
3. Every November, the reef corals participate in mass reproduction for a week, releasing a huge number of sperm and eggs. Popularly called “sex on the reef”, this mass spawning is believed to be related to lunar phases and water temperature.
4. The Australian government has invested $ 2 billion in a project called the Reef 2050 Plan, which aims to improve water quality, reduce flushing and eradicate the Crown of thorns starfish.
5. Coral reefs help improve the quality of the surrounding water. They act like a filter that catches whatever is floating in the water. That’s why the water around the Great Barrier Reef is so crystal clear.
6. The 8,000 m2 coral reef is home to more fish species than the bird species found throughout North America.
Top Tourist Spots around the Great Barrier Reef :
- Scuba Diving
- Airlie Beach
- Whitsundays sailing
- Queensland Diving
- Magnetic Island.
- The Daintree Rainforest.
- Whitsunday islands
- Mission Beach
- The Thorsborne Trail
- North Queensland’s winter sun
4 Interesting Facts about the Great Barrier Reef :
1. Most of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Founded in 1975 by the Australian government, the national park helps protect coral reefs and limit the impact of human use.
2. While the average depth of the coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef ranges around 35 meters, the slope from the continental shelf descends to a depth of more than 2 kilometers.
3. The hard corals that act as the backbone of the Great Barrier Reef are growing at a tiny rate — just 1.5 cm per year.
4. The Great Reef is one of the largest and most spectacular natural features on our planet, and we need to do everything we can to preserve it.
The Great barrier reef beauty :
1. The world’s largest coral system, the Great Barrier Reef, consists of more than 2,900 individual coral reefs and 900 islands.
2. Covering an area of about 345,000 km2, the Great Barrier Reef is larger than most countries: this coral reef could take 63rd place between Germany and the Republic of the Congo. It also exceeds the area of most American states-only Alaska, Texas, California and the state of Montana are larger than it.
3. As the world’s largest formation created by living organisms, the Great Barrier Reef is so large that it can be seen from space.
Why is the great barrier reef important?
1. The reef is a biodiversity hotspot: it is home to more than 1,500 species of fish, 215 species of birds, more than 3,000 species of shellfish, 6 of the world’s 7 existing species of sea turtles, 30 species of whales and dolphins, one of the world’s most important populations of dugongs, and much other flora and fauna.
2. The reef is under severe external environmental pressures, including climate change, pollution, overfishing, oil spills, and more. These threats have led to massive coral bleaching. Scientists estimate that more than 93% of coral reefs currently suffer from bleaching, putting the Great Barrier Reef at risk of extinction.
Is the barrier reef in danger?
In just 27 years, between 1985 and 2012, the Great Barrier Reef lost more than half of its coral and could disappear if we don’t help it recover.
The Great Barrier Reef is so complex and has such a diverse ecosystem, which in its incredible richness of species can only compete with tropical rainforests.
The Great Barrier Reef Facts for Kids?
1. 5,000 species of Mollusc have been recorded on the reef.
2. The Great Barrier Reef was formed on the east coast of the continent of Australia during the Miocene epoch about 25 million years ago.
3. Forty-nine species of pipefish and nine species of seahorse have been recorded.
4. Seven species of frog inhabit the islands.
5. 215 species of birds (including 22 species of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds) visit the reef or nest or roost on the islands, including the white-bellied sea eagle and roseate tern.
6. 330 species of ascidians on the reef system with a diameter of 1–10 cm.
7. 300-500 species of bryozoans live on the reef.
8. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen even from outer space.
9. Five hundred species of marine algae or seaweed live on the reef.
