DEFINITION OF GREAT BARRIER REEF

The largest coral reef in the world, the

Great Barrier Reef forms a 1,250-mile (2,010-km) long breakwater

in the Coral Sea along the northeast coast of Queensland,

Australia. The reef has been designated a World

Heritage area, the world’s largest such site. The reef is comprised

of several individual reef complexes, including 2,800

individual reefs stretching from the Swain reefs in the south to

the Warrier reefs along the southern coast of Papua New

Guinea. Many reef types are recognized, including fringing

reefs, flat platform reefs, and elongate ribbon reefs. The reef

complexes are separated from the mainland of Queensland by

a shallow lagoon ranging 10–100 miles (16–160 km) wide.

There are more than 400 types of coral known on the

Great Barrier Reef, as well as 1,500 species of fish, 400

species of sponges, and 4,000 types of mollusk, making it one

of the world’s richest sites in terms of faunal diversity. Additionally,

the reefs hosts animals including numerous sea

anemones, worms, crustaceans, and echinoderms, and an

endangered mammal known as a dugong. Sea turtles feed on

abundant algae and sea grass, and the reef is frequented by

humpback whales that migrate from Antarctic waters to have

babies in warm waters. Hundreds of bird species have breeding

colonies in the islands and cays among the reefs, and

these birds include beautiful herons, pelicans, osprey, eagles,

and shearwaters.

The reefs also hide dozens of shipwrecks and have

numerous archaeological sites of significance to the Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

See also CARBONATE; REEF.

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