One of the best places for coral reef lovers, snorkelers and scuba divers to visit on our planet is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef… but do you have any idea how big the reef truly is?  The CTE test question of the week…  How big is the Great Barrier Reef?

A) Bigger than Victoria and Tasmania combined, B)  Bigger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Holland combined, C) Roughly the same area as Japan, Germany, Malaysia or Italy, D) slightly smaller than the entire Baltic Sea, or  E) all of the above.  Think about your answer and after you read more facts about the Great Barrier Reef go to the bottom of this page to find your answer.

• covers 344,400 km² in area
• includes the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem
• includes some 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands
• extends south from the northern tip of Queensland in north-eastern Australia to just north of Bundaberg
• is between 60 and 250 kilometres in width
• has an average depth of 35 metres in its inshore waters, while on outer reefs, continental slopes extend down to depths of more than 2000 metres
• was created in 1975 through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act
• is the largest living structure on the planet
• Stretching 2300 kilometres, this natural icon is so large it can even be seen from outer space.
• includes 600 types of soft and hard corals, more than 100 species of jellyfish, 3000 varieties of molluscs, 500 species of worms, 1625 types of fish, 133 varieties of sharks and rays, and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.

The Great Barrier Reef is also unique as it extends over 14 degrees of latitude, from shallow estuarine areas to deep oceanic waters.  Within this vast expanse are a unique range of ecological communities, habitats and species – all of which make the Reef one of the most complex natural ecosystems in the world.

Hope you enjoyed our fun facts about the Great Barrier Reef and when in Australia CTE will be very happy to arrange your travel needs to this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Oh, the answer to our question.  You guessed it (E) all of the above are correct.