GREAT BARRIER REEF

The Great Barrier Reef stretches along the east coast of Queensland in Australia. It is the world's largest coral reef . It is over 2000km (1250 miles) long! It is not a single reef at all. It is made up of over 2900 individual reefs very close to each other

WHAT IS A CORAL REEF?

A coral is a tiny marine polyp. It is the living part of the coral reef. There are many different kinds of corals. These are what gives the coral reef its colourful appearance. Corals feed mostly on plankton. Coral grows in warm climates where there is clear salt water and sunlight. They don't like pollution.
A coral reef is a natural barrier made of the bodies of living and dead coral. It is normally just below the surface of the water.
It is made of two parts the:
• white part is made from the bodies of zillions and zillions of polyps which have died over hundreds and thousands of years.
• colourful part is the living part of the coral reef. It is made up of living polyps.

WHO LIVES HERE?

• 1500 species of fish
• 400 different types of coral
• 4,00 molluscs (like clams and the sea slug)
• 500 species of seaweed
• 215 species of birds
• 16 species of sea snake
• 6 species of sea turtle
• Whales visit during winter