Great Barrier Reef is a massive mine of gems in the southern world
Great Barrier Reef, the most extensive wonder among 7 underwater wonders
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a beautiful marine park home to some of the world’s most unique creatures. How the Great Barrier Reef is a massive mine of gems in the southern world, let’s dive into this chapter.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders among seven underwater wonders* with the most extensive area on Earth.
It is located on the eastern seaboard of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s most extensive and surprising coral reef oceanarium.
- What is coral?
Coral is a colorful variety of inorganic surfaces in the ocean. It has always been an object of puzzlement to the human mind how such beautiful colored structures could have been created inside the deep sea.
However, at first glance, coral looks like a plant because its shape resembles a colorful mushroom or weed. However, according to experts’ research, corals in the sea are not plants but animals.
Because, like plants, they can’t make their food themself, but they eat some healthy organisms and even small fish.
Coral is also known as the longest-living organism in the world because some corals can live up to 5,000 years.
Anyway, the coral is also home to various animals, including fish that live in the ocean.
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The Great Barrier Reef, spread over two-thirds of the northeastern Queensland coast of Australia, is a vast and beautiful natural resource.
In other words, this area spread over 3,44,400 square kilometers covers an area larger than the two Australian states.
Like the artificial Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef is a natural structure seen from outer space.
The Great Barrier Reef marine system is a collection of 2,900 rock formations of different sizes divided into 900 islands estimated to be approximately 18 million years old.
Among them, Green Island is the most famous gem. A 45-minute drive from Cairns, Queensland. This precious spot is a hotspot for gem-seekers within the reef. It is the primary dream of people to get lost in the beauty and precious things of the Earth.
In GBR Marine Park, Four hundred types of corals, 1,500 species of fish, 30 species of whales and dolphins, 215 species of birds, and 4,000 types of mollusks live inside the colorful coral world. The reef is also home to endangered species like the dugong and the green turtle.
Apart from clams and rare species of whales, six species of the seven sea turtles in the world are found in this area.
Due to the immense beauty of this reef, people have managed to attract many tourists to this area and win their hearts.
It is the dream of many divers to see the golden fish under this water, where they can see the rare creatures and animals that many people in the world have not seen, as well as heaven under the sea.
Despite all this, the GBR is not untouched by the effects of global warming and human interference.
Like many others, This precious asset of the Earth also faces climate change, poor water quality, overfishing, loss of biodiversity, and coastal modernization.
A study report a few years ago found that half of the GBR’s corals had disappeared in recent decades. So, there is a deep concern about how to protect this precious natural resource in the future.
The Great Barrier Reef is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which extends 250 kilometers offshore from the coast of the mainland.
It is also the primary responsibility of the human community to protect this precious and beautiful natural structure with all its organisms. Because mentioned facts prove the Great Barrier Reef is a massive mine of gems in the southern world.
*The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was announced by CEDAM International (Conservation, Education, Diving, Awareness, and Marine Research), a non-profit organization of divers. This organization is dedicated to marine research and conservation. CEDAM began the Seven Underwater Wonders investigation program in 1989.
It is said that the primary goal of creating a list of underwater wonder locations is to protect them before they are lost forever.
