One of the Wonders of the Natural World
The world s largest coral reef is the Great Barrier Reef which composes of roughly 3000 individual reefs and 900 islands. The reef is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland s in the northeast of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world it is the world s largest coral reef ecosystem. It was declared a World Heritage in 1981. More than two million people visit the reef each year generating more than 2 billion Austailian Dollors in tourism dollars. Most of the visitors come to go out on the reef. A scourge of the reef is bleaching where the corals have died in large numbers. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Queensland s Great Barrier Reef, but has been observed on reefs throughout the world. It is thought the bleaching has been caused by rises in water temperature, although the evidence is not conclusive. Another one of the dangers to the habitat is the Crown of Thorns starfish. Since the 1960s the Crown of Thorns have been destroying t...