The Great Barrier Reef (one of the Nature’s biggest wonders)

The Great Barrier Reef is my humble oppinion one of the Nature’s biggest wonders. It is the world’s largest coral reef system, composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands, that stretch for 2,600 kilometres (1,616 mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is sometimes referred to as the largest single living organism in the world (In reality, it is made up of many millions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps). The living reef structure is believed to have begun growing about 18,000 years ago, but the oldest coral on the reef now is a species of Porites known as boulder coral, which is only about 1,000 years old and it grows about 1 centimetre per year.

The Great Barrier Reef is habited by 30 species of whales, dolphins, or porpoises including the Dwarf Minke Whale, Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin and the Humpback whale. There are also large populations of dugongs, six species of sea turtle come to the reef to breed – Green Sea Turtle, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Flatback Turtle, and Olive Ridley. The air above the Reef has more than 200 species of birds (including 40 species of waterbirds). There are also records of 5000 species of mollusc, 14 species of sea snakes, more than 1500 species of fish (including the Clownfish, Red Bass, Red-Throat Emperor, and several species of Snapper and Coral Trout). The corals are about 400 species both hard corals and soft type. There are 15 species of seagrass near the Reef that attract the dugongs and sea turtles. 500 species of marine algae or seaweed live on the Reef. The irukandji jellyfish also lives on the Reef.