Great Barrier Reef from above, Queensland, Australia
© Francesco Riccardo Iacomino/Getty Image
Underwater architecture. Great Barrier Reef from above, Queensland, Australia
One of the world's greatest natural wonders stretches through the turquoise waters of the Coral Sea off Australia's northeast shoreline. The Great Barrier Reef, running along the coast of Queensland, is the world's largest coral reef system. It is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and hundreds of islands, spanning more than 1,400 miles.
This remarkable marine landscape supports extraordinary biodiversity, including hundreds of coral species, more than 1,600 kinds of fish, as well as sea turtles, rays, seabirds and reef sharks. Its shallow lagoons, coral cays and deeper outer reefs create a mosaic found nowhere else on Earth.
Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the reef is valued not only for its size and beauty, but also for its ecological importance and deep cultural connections to Australia's First Nations peoples. Today, researchers, communities and governments work together to protect this fragile ecosystem, helping preserve the reef's complex patterns and vibrant marine life for the future.
Related Images
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
Banyak Islands, Sumatra, Indonesia
Great Blue Hole, Belize
Atolls in Indian Ocean, Maldives
Vila Franca Islet, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Kornati National Park, Croatia
Dam, lake and mountains in Kerala
Coral reef surrounding the island of Monuriki, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Bing Today Images
