Learn

Some people call it an underwater wonderland. Others call it the most magical place on our planet. We are talking about one of the great wonders of our natural world-the beautiful and amazing Great Barrier Reef located off the East Coast of Australia. People travel from all over the world to see and explore the Great Barrier Reef and the wonderful creatures that live in the area.

The Great Barrier Reef is not just one reef but actually a series of over 2000 individual reefs stretching for more than 2300 kilometers. It stretches from Papua New Guinea in the north down the Queensland coast to Lady Elliott Island in the south. In addition to the reefs there are also over 500 islands in the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. But what is a coral reef? Is it dead or alive? Can you walk on it? Well, coral is a tiny marine polyp that is alive. Biologists used to think that corals were plants but we now know that they are animals. They are similar in structure to sea anemones and jellyfish with a radially symmetrical body and one opening where they take in food. Corals may consist of only one polyp or they may consist of hundreds of polyps all joined together in one large structure called a colony. There are many different types of coral that come in many different colors. Some have tentacles, some have a soft jelly-like body and some have hard and stony skeletons. Corals feed primarily during the night on plankton from the water.

A coral reef is a natural barrier comprised of the bodies of living and dead coral. Coral reefs exist in warm climates with clear salt-water and lots of sunlight. Imagine looking at a huge structure that looks like a solid structure but is actually alive! And since coral reefs are also in shallow water you can actually see it from above the water! All along the Great Barrier Reef, the color of the coral reef changes as does the color of the water which varies from a turquoise to a green to a blue color. The white part of the actual coral reef is made from the bodies of the millions of polyps which have died over the years. The colorful part of the coral reef is made up of the living polyps.

If you think that the Great Barrier Reef is just a bunch of coral, think again! In addition to the over 400 species of coral, the Great Barrier Reef is home to over 4000 species of mollusk, 500 species of seaweed, 1500 species of fish, 200 species of birds, and 6 species of sea turtles. There are also many whales, dolphins and other animals such as the dugong (the dugong is a very unique and interesting animal that you should read about if you get a chance) that live amongst the coral reefs.

The best way to experience the magic and beauty of the Great Barrier Reef is to experience it up close and personal, underwater. People who have dived and explored in the Great Barrier Reef claim that it is an underwater wonderland filled with amazing creatures and beautiful sights.

This Great Barrier Reef, although beautiful and amazing, is very sensitive to outside forces such as climate change, changes in the patterns of water movement and global warming. Humans are also responsible for damaging the Great Barrier Reef and thus endangering the lives of the animals that live there. People sometimes walk on the fragile coral and break them off. There is also the problem of water-pollution, over-fishing, and boat anchors. If you are one of the lucky people that gets the chance to explore this underwater wonderland-explore and enjoy but be sure to leave everything just the way you found it.