1. Australia’s Natural Environment
The Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest

2. The Great Barrier Reef

3. Location
The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea along the east coast of Australia

4. About the Great Barrier Reef
Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow, clean water and are made up of coral, sand, and rock
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system in the world and is made up of 3,000 smaller reef systems
It stretches 2,600 km along the east coast
The top of the reef sits about two to three feet below sea level
The waters around it cover roughly 80,000 square miles, or 208,000 km, an area slightly smaller than the state of Minnesota.

5. There are many islands on the Great Barrier reef
These islands are made of coral sand that has piled up over time
Coral sand is formed when waves constantly wash over the dead coral, breaking it in to sand
These islands have been given the name Coral Cays.
Most Coral Cays are impossible to reach by boat.
They are hard to see, and the sharp coral can tear the bottom of the boat
Ancient shipwrecks can still be found among the coral
Reefs as large as the Great Barrier Reef take thousands of years to develop
If you happen to visit a reef, any reef, be careful to not step on living coral. Most grow slowly, maybe less than two inches, or five cm a year. It would take years to replace it!

6. About three hundred and fifty types of coral live and grow on the Great Barrier Reef
All have different skeleton shapes
One kind of coral looks like deer antlers! It is called staghorn coral, and is one of the more common corals on the reef. It is also one of the fastest growers
Not only do the corals make up the reef itself, but they are home to many different creatures
Many types of fish depend on the coral to protect them
Hundreds of miles along the reef have not been explored, but of what has, the beauty is breath taking!

7. The Daintree Forest
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest on the north east coast of Queensland, Australia
It is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian Continent

8. The Daintree rainforest is the home to many animals
It contains 30% of the frog, reptile and marsupial species in Australia
65% of Australia’s bat and butterfly species
18% of bird species in the country can be found in here
There are also over 12,000 species of insects.