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Monday, May 18, 2009

Quick article: Great Barrier Reef (Australia)

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 3,000 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN has labelled it one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust has named it a state icon of Queensland.
A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as overfishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures to the reef and its ecosystem include water quality from runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish.

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A few blogs on the Great Barrier Reef:

traveltheworld360.com wrote:


Much of the reef is also protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and through these protection efforts, many of the vulnerable and endangered species that make the reef their home and are in fact endemic to the reef system are protected as well. Among these animals are thirty known species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, six species of sea turtles, salt water crocodiles, the Irikandiji jellyfish, the giant clams, and various fish species. These animals call the reef their home year round, so be on the lookout it may be the only time that you will ever be able to seem them outside of a marine theme park.


best-reviewnow.com wrote:

Some of the most interesting things that can be found in the ocean are coral reefs. The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef, which is located off of the coast of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is in the Coral Sea, which is situated just off of the coast of Queensland in northern Australia. It is made up of 3000 separate coral reefs and 900 different islands, which stretch to a length of 1616 miles. The Reef is often referred to as the largest living organism in the world, although in reality, it is actually made up of many, many tiny organisms; each of these is known as coral polyps.
Another of the great things about the Great Barrier Reef is its age. Although scientists believe that the Reef is built on the remains of another coral reef that dates back at least 18,000 years, the current Great Barrier Reef can only be dated back 1000 years, which can be dated by analyzing the species of boulder coral that makes up this Reef.

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