Queensland Holidays - About the Reef -

About the Reef

World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef - learn about the world's largest coral reef system, the marine flora and fauna and the importance of protecting this precious and unique environment.

Other fast facts:

It is the only living organism that can be seen from outer space.

It is the only natural wonder of the world that is underwater and it attracted World Heritage Area protections in 1981.

It is the world's youngest reef. The oldest living areas of the reef are 8000-years-old and 6000-years-old in sandy island areas.

It covers an area of 348,000sq m, larger than the United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland combined and half the size of Texas.

It is 2300km long, dwarfing the next longest contender, the Belize Barrier Reef which stands at 290km.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is made up of 2900 reefs. Of these, 760 are fringing reefs surrounding islands and a further 300 are coral cays.

Coral reefs make up approximately 6 per cent of the Marine Park.

1.6 million people visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park each year, only accessing a relatively small section of the park.