Download The Great Barrier Reef!

The Great Barrier Reef!
Interesting facts and information!
Location!
• The Great Barrier Reef is located off the
North-Eastern Coast of Australia near
Queensland.
What is it?
• One of the 7 Wonders of the World! It can be
seen from space!
• It is the largest coral reef system in the world!
• It is the world’s largest living structure!
• It is made up of around 2900 individual reefs and
900 islands!
• The Great Barrier Reef is around 2600 kilometres
(1616 miles) in length.
• It’s the size of about 70 million football fields!
Coral!
• A marine animal.
• It resembles a cross between
colourful rocks and various bits of
seaweed.
• Coral create calcium carbonate • Coral can be
(limestone) which forms a hard, found in warm
shell-like skeleton.
shallow seas or
oceans.
• Coral only grows
a few inches each
year.
Life on the Reef!
• It is home to a wide range of life, including
fish, sea turtles, giant clam, seahorse, sea
snakes, sea turtles, stingray, sharks and
many more.
• Over 1500 kinds of fish live in the Great
Barrier reef, including Finding Nemo star
the Clownfish!
• The smallest fish is called the Stout Infant
Fish which is only 7 millimetres long, and
the biggest is the whale shark which can
grow up to 12 metres long!
• It also contains some of the deadliest
animals in the ocean, including Box
Jellyfish, the Blue Ringed Octopus, and
Stone Fish.
Stingray
Blue Ringed Octopus
Dugong
Blue Starfish
Protection!
• The Great Barrier Reef is in danger of extinction.
• 27% of the world’s reefs have already been lost.
• This happens by pollution and throwing anchors on The
Great Barrier Reef.
• We can protect our coral reefs by not dropping our
anchors on the reefs, because the reefs are very
delicate.
• Do not touch coral because it is very delicate.
• Avoid stirring up the sea bottom. It will rip up the coral.
• Don’t leave trash on the beach.