The Great Barrier Reef
(Unesco Heritage Site)
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral system on the planet Earth. It stretches over 344,400 kilometers and composed of 2,900 individual reefs and about 900 islands. It is located in the coral sea just of the coast of Australia, Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef has also been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. And not only that, CNN has also labeled The Great Barrier Reef as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Great Barrier Reef can also be seen from outer space and is the largest single structure made by living organisms. The reef is filled with billions of coral polyps which is the creature responsible for the corals in our coral reefs all over the world, it is basically the single living unit of corals in the reef. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park which helps limit the human threats to the reef like pollution etc. Besides human threats, the Great Barrier Reef also suffers from environmental threats, some environmental pressures include runoff, climate change which is accompanied by mass coral bleaching and population breakouts of crown-of-thorns starfish which is a creature which preys upon hard or stony coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef has also been known to be spiritually valued by the indigenous people of Australia. The reef is also a massive tourist attraction especially for the people in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. Tourism is the primary source of income for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park generating about $3,000,000,000 per year.