This wonderful corals reef is the only live collective organism that can be seen
from the orbit of the Earth. The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing site of extraordinaire
beauty located in the northeastern coast of Australia, where it can find almost
all corals species of the
world. It is the largest corals ecosystem of the planet and without doubt one of the most beautiful places of the Earth.
This place is named thus; because is an outer reef located along the Australian
coast, but with a channel between the continental coastline and the reef whose depth
is around 60 meters. This Reef has over 1000 islands,
most of them encircled by
coral reefs; these islands are the home of a great number of animals and forests;
therefore these islands are one of
the main attractions of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Barrier Reef is composed by around 9000 islands and 2800 individual reefs, it
spreads along 2600 Kilometers, occupying almost 344 400 square kilometers. Each
individual reef has a size between 1 and 10 000 hectares. Besides, this marvelous ecosystem hosts also around 400 coral species, 1500 fish species, 4000 kinds of
mollusk and several mammals and reptiles endangered such as the large green turtle
or the dugong (also known as sea cow). There is also a great population of birds
in the islands. Because of this variety Australia owns one of the richest seas of
the world; therefore the country receives every year around one billion dollars
thanks to the fishing industry.
The great variety and number of corals in this site is due to the ideal conditions
of temperature and light of this region of the planet. The shallow and warm waters
(around 18 ºC and 30 meters depth) of the zone combined with the sunshine that illuminates
these waters during the entire year provide a perfect environment for the development
of corals, which created also an ideal ambient for the other species that inhabit
the ecosystem.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beautiful underwater spectacles of the
world; therefore is a true paradise to do scuba diving. This activity is also the
best way to know the Great Barrier Reef. Diving in this natural wonderful is the
opportunity to enter into an amazing
universe of color, created by the abundant
marine life. The reef looks like an endless
set of gardens in bloom under ocean.
Unfortunately like most underwater paradises of the world, the Great Barrier Reef
has been affected by the human contamination, which comes mainly of the rivers of
the northeastern Australia, which transport to the ocean the remains
of the fertilizers
and pesticides used by the farmers. These chemical residues cause the decreasing
of the oxygen in the water killing many corals and other species. The over fishing
is also a great threat for the balance of the ecosystem.
History
This natural wonder was born around 18 million years ago. In that time Australia
had for first time a coastline with water temperatures that allowed a new range
of live, including tropical reef building-corals. This environmental change was
caused by the separation of the territory of Australia of the ancient Gondwanaland
territory that was composed by Australia, Antarctica and South America. The modification
in the ambient conditions generated also the evolution of the continental species
that inhabited Australia before the continental separation; producing new tropical
species.
The Great Barrier Reef
The most important growing period of the corals reefs occurred two million years
ago; since then the periodic glacial ages have lowered the sea level several times,
this fact caused the exposition of the reef and the massive died of corals, leaving
limestone hills instead of the colorful corals reefs. Nevertheless, once glacial
period finished the sea level rises again and new corals polyps form new reefs,
completing the life cycle. Many thousands of generations of dead corals, have constructed
themselves with their skeletons, walls stones, which were covered by a great variety
of new organisms.
The Australian aborigines that arrive to Australia around 40 000 years ago, were
the first human that had contact with the Great Barrier Reef. They fished in this
zone since ancient times. Nevertheless, the first historical registers about this
natural wonder, dates from the XVI century, when a Portuguese expedition reached
the eastern coast of Australia in 1522. Later, several expeditions of different
Europeans countries, like the Dutch expedition led by Willem, explored during
long time the Australia’s coasts. But, the Great Barrier was really known by Europeans
only after June 1770 when the Bark Endeavour which was under rules of the captain
James Cook, struck the Great Barrier Reef ; therefore the crew was forced to stay
6 weeks in the region where now is the modern city of Cooktown, to repair the ship.
Thanks to this accident, the scientists that composed the Endeavour crew (Daniel
Solander and Joseph Banks) had the opportunity to study the Reef. After this voyage,
the international scientific community knew the existence of the Barrier Reef.
During the
next decades the Barrier was extensively studied by several expeditions
led by explorers such as William Bligh, Mathew Flinders or the Hydrographer Philip
Parker King, who accurately charted most part of the northern Reef in 1820. Nevertheless,
the studying of the Barrier was almost completely abandoned the rest the XIX century
and many islands of the Barrier Reef were used as deposits of guano or to built
lighthouses. Only in the XX century the scientific community began to study seriously
this place. In 1922 was created the Great Barrier Reef Committee, which was the
first association that studied detail the Great Barrier Reef, since then, several
efforts to study and protect this place have been done.
In 1975 the Australian Government created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, whose
management is responsibility of the Queensland Government and the National Government.
The authorities of the Park have established an administration program that includes
management plans, education programs, permits and incentives to protect the Natural
Reserve, etc. In 1981, the Great Barrier Reef was declared World Heritage by UNESCO,
became the largest World Heritage area, covering 347 000 square kilometers. It is
also considered by CEDAM one of the Wonders of the Underwater World.
In the last decades the Great Barrier Reef became an important tourist destination,
mainly to the lovers of the scuba diving. Therefore, many tourist infrastructures
has been built along the Queensland coastline to host the almost two million visitors
that every year arrived to the zone, turning the tourism, the first economic activity
of the region, generating around 5 billions dollars per year. The range of tourist
services is very varied; there are boat tours, cruises, helicopter flights, underwater
tours, etc.
Nevertheless, the management of the tourism in the Great Barrier Reef is very efficient
and is oriented towards tourism ecologically sustainable; since, 20% of the incomes
generated by visitors are used to the research and conservation of the Barrier Reef.
However, the preservation of this natural paradise is a task that must be constant
and it is a task for all people of the World.