INTRODUCTION This is a story about one of the greatest natural wonders of the world An underwater wonder it is a place of breathtaking beauty bursting with colour and teeming with life But it is a place as fragile as it is magnificent This is the story of the Great Barrier Reef
ON THE REEF
MEET THE REEF The Great Barrier Reef is the world's biggest coral reef system stretching for more than 2,300 kilometres along Australia's coast and covering an area the size of 70 million football fields If you set out to walk that same distance it would take you three weeks and that's without stopping to eat or take naps Along its great length are islands of gleaming white sand fringed in green mangrove forests and winding ribbons of reef
The Great Barrier Reef is also a World Heritage Site These precious sites around the world are chosen because they are amazing places that need to be treasured and protected
