Natural Wonders and Unique Landmarks of Australia Year 9

1. Great Barrier Reef The only living thing on Earth visible from space, it was born 25 million years ago. The world’s largest reef system that stretches for 3,000 kilometers off the Queensland coast has 400 different types of coral and 1,500 species of tropical fish. Beautiful but precious, pollution and increased tourism threaten its future.

2. Uluru A sacred site to the indigenous Anangu people, who request individuals not to climb the sandstone monolith 450 kilometers southwest of Alice Springs in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. It's 348 meters high with a circumference of 9.4 kilometers. It's famed for the different hues that bathe it, particularly at sunrise and sunset.

3. Shark Bay Some 800 kilometers north of Perth on Australia’s west coast, Shark Bay's W-shaped coastline of rocky limestone, white sand dunes and cliffs is 1,500-kilometers long. The bay has many shallow peninsulas and is home to 10,000 dugongs, as well as many threatened species, dolphins and the world’s most diverse sea grass. Historians say it was where Europeans first landed and deemed it "no good."

4. Twelve Apostles Erosion created these limestone stacks that are viewable from the Great Ocean Road, off the Victorian coast, where they continue to erode. In spite of being named the Twelve Apostles, there were only nine when they were named -- but after a recent fall, there are now eight. Their base erodes at a rate of two centimeters a year.

5. Kakadu Encompassing 20,000 square kilometers of tropical biodiversity, including 1,700 plant species, Kakadu lies 171 kilometers southeast of Darwin. It contains floodplains, tidal flats and rock country. It’s covered in Aboriginal rock carvings and, controversially, has a uranium mine. It’s also home to freshwater and saltwater crocodiles, so watch your step.

Murray Darling Basin The Murray–Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia. Its name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. The basin, which drains around one- seventh of the Australian land mass, it is one of the most significant agricultural areas in Australia.southeastern Australiathe Murray RiverDarling RiverAustralian