Facts

Facts

The Reef is a unique ecosystem; home to thousands of species of marine life, including fish, whales, dolphins, and six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle.

1 of 7

natural wonders of the world.

Largest

living structure on the planet, so big it’s visible from space.

348,000 km2

of World Heritage Listed area, which is slightly more than the 344,400 km2 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area because it also includes some 980 islands, internal waters, intertidal areas and other state waters.

70M

football fields would fit inside the marine park

1981

the Reef was world heritage listed

980

individual islands

2,000m

depth on outer reefs

7%

of the World Heritage area is made up of coral reefs. The rest is an extraordinary variety of marine habitats ranging from shallow inshore areas – such as seagrass, mangroves, sand, algal and sponge gardens, and inter-reefal communities – to deep oceanic areas more than 250 km offshore.

1975

is the year the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created.

Coral

3000

individual reefs

300

coral cays

150

inshore mangrove islands

Mantis Shrimp

#Reef Animals


Fish

1625

species of fish – 10% of the world’s fish species


Coral

600+

types of hard and soft corals


Bird

215

species of birds


Ray

133

varieties of sharks and rays


Whale

30

species of whales and dolphins


Snake

14

species of sea snakes


Turtle

6 of 7

of the world's species of marine turtle


25%

of all known marine species

Turtle on the Reef with Staghorn coral

#Help her survive the heat

The Great Barrier Reef is fighting for life and we are fighting for her future.