5 Fun facts about the Great Barrier Reef-converted

5 Fun facts about the Great Barrier Reef One of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, is said to be the largest structure built by living beings. A site of diverse marine culture and beauty, it holds great scientific acumen and attracts thousands of tourists. With many salient features, It is a wonderland on its own. Along with the natural beauty, it has many Great Barrier Reef activities, which makes the place even more interesting. Here are 5 fun facts about the Great Barrier Reef that will leave you spellbound.

Visible from Outer Space ● The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing on Earth, and therefore it is visible from outer space. ● The extraordinary ecosystem has a coastline of 2300 km. ● It is an array of thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands. It has the majestic Whitsunday Islands, which itself has 74 islands. ● It also has the pristine Whitehaven beach, which has the purest white sand. ● It is bigger than the United Kingdom. ● It is the size of a whopping 70 million football fields. ● There are 600 types of hard and soft coral found here. Million year's old Reef ● The Great Barrier Reef is considered million years old. It rests upon remnants of age-old dead marine life. ● You can swim past through calms aged 100 years. ● It houses prehistoric creatures, which are said to last 500 million years.

Myriad species of Marine life ● The vibrant marine life of the Great Barrier Reef is what sets it apart from the rest of the reefs. ● It is home to innumerable species. Out of 7 of the turtle species, 6 species can be found in the Great Barrier Reef. ● It houses 215 species of birds, 17 species of sea snakes, and over 1,500 species of fish. ● It also accounts for 10 % of the world's fish species. ● Species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises also find a home here. ● The world’s most important dugong population is also found here. ● The Great Barrier Reef houses the Great Eight- whales, manta rays, clownfish, turtles, potato cod, giant clams, Maori wrasse, and sharks. World Heritage Site ● Apart from being one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef was also deduced as a World Heritage site in 1984.

● Because just one feather was not enough for the hat, It also shares its coastline with the Wet Tropics, which also happens to be a world heritage site. ● This makes it the only place on Earth where two world heritage sites sit side by side. The Reef is shallow ● The reef has an average depth of thirty-five meters, making it the perfect place for water activities. ● Because of its shallow depth, diving, snorkeling, and other water activities are very common over here. ● Most corals and fish grow where there is more light, that is near to the shore. So some of the marine life can be spotted very easily. ● The Disney character Nemo can be easily spotted as it lives in large numbers on the reef.