The continent of Australia includes mainland Australia, Tasmania and the island of New Guinea. Though New Zealand is often mistaken to be a part of the Australian continent it is actually a part of Zealandia, a continental crust that is almost completely underwater.
Spread across 344,400 square kilometres, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system and the biggest living structure on earth. It is so large that it can be seen from outer space. UNESCO designated the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site in 1981. It is also one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
The reef is located in the Coral Sea near the coast of Queensland in Australia. It is home to an astonishing variety of marine plants and animals. Ancient sea turtles, reef fish, 134 species of sharks and rays are some of the sea animals found here. The reef also has at least 400 different hard and soft corals and a wide variety of seaweeds. The Great Barrier Reef marine park protects a large part of the reef from human impact. However, climate change, mass coral bleaching, dumping of sludge and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish are some of the environmental concerns faced by the Reef.
Picture Credit : Google
