• Key Information

  • Great Barrier Reef

  • Type
    Coral Reef System
  • Area
    133,000 sq mi
  • Length
    1,400 miles
  • Learning Point
  • The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.
  • Over 1500 species of tropical fish, 400 different types of coral, 200 types of birds, 30 types of dolphins and whales and 20 types of reptiles are just some of the lifeforms which inhabit the reef.
  • Project
  • Draw your own coral reef picture with coral, plants and fish.
  • Media
  • Location
  • Located in
    Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Queensland, Australia
  • Fun Facts
  • The reef is made of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
  • Reefs can grow by 0.5 to 1.25 in wider each year, and up to 10 in higher. They need to grown in water that is no more than 150 metres deep so they can get the sunlight they require.
  • A third of all the coral in the world is in the Great Barrier Reef.
  • Over the past few years the reef is being gradually destroyed by a pest called the Crown of Thorns Seastar which eats the coral polyps.