WORLD HERITAGE
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands
The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia
The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms
It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981
One of Australia's most remarkable natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world's largest coral reef. The reef contains an abundance of marine life and comprises of over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays and literally hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with some of the worlds most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches.
Because of its natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the worlds most sought after tourist destinations. A visitor to the Great Barrier Reef can enjoy many experiences including snorkeling, scuba diving, aircraft or helicopter tours, bare boats (self-sail), glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips, cruise ship tours, whale watching and swimming with dolphins
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and pulling away from it, and viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's great natural wonders. It is the largest reef in the world and consists of nearly 3000 individual reefs, 880 islands and hundreds and thousands of different types of plant, bird and marine life. Swimming with the fish and admiring the colours of the coral is a must for any holiday to the Great Barrier Reef. Outer reef scuba diving and island day trips are some of the more common pastimes on the reef along with scenic flights and rainforest tours to Kuranda and the Daintree Rainforest.
The weather over the Great Barrier Reef varies a fair bit due to the long length of the reef. Stretching over 2500km down the coast of Queensland, the majority of the reef is in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The northern part of the reef is in a tropical climate with hot wet summers with heaps of rain and humidity. The southern end the Great Barrier Reef is sub-tropical with milder summers and far less humidity.
At its 36th meeting in June 2012, the World Heritage Committee considered the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and noted a report from the World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission that visited Australia earlier that year.
This report recognised that Australia's management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is in many respects international best practice. The Committee handed down a decision on Australia's management of the reef - including recommendations to further manage and protect the reef.
https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/gbr