Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef. The reef is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. It stretches over 2000 kilometres in length and can be seen from space. An ancient barrier reef similar to the Great Barrier Reef can be found in The Kimberlies.

Related Topics:
Coral reef - Coral Sea - Queensland - Australia - The Kimberlies

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The Great Barrier Reef first became known to Europeans when the explorer Captain James Cook ran aground on it on 11 June 1770. The Great Barrier Reef however was known to the indigenous Aboriginal peoples whose occupation of the Australian continent extends back 40,000 to 60,000 years or more http://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/tools/koori.html http://www.reefed.edu.au/explorer/traditional_owners/index.html. The oldest parts of the reef also date from about that time.

Related Topics:
Captain James Cook - Aboriginal

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Due to its vast biodiversity, warm clear waters and its accessibility from the floating guest facilities called 'live aboards', the Reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially scuba divers. Many cities along the Queensland coast offer boat trips to the reef on a daily basis. Several continental islands have been turned into resorts.

Related Topics:
Live aboard - Scuba divers - Resort

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The Great Barrier Reef is sometimes referred to as the single largest organism in the world. In reality it is made up of many millions of tiny organisms, as are all coral formations.

Related Topics:
Largest organism - Coral

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A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

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