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The Great Barrier Reef By: Matt K.

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The Largest Coral Reef in the World

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Where in the World? <ul><li>The Great Barrier Reef is located off the northeastern coast of Australia and it stretches 1,250 miles. </li></ul><ul><li>Some of the reef is visible from above water, but most of its beauty is visible from underwater. </li></ul>

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What in the World? <ul><li>There are many different kinds of coral. There is hard coral and soft coral. </li></ul><ul><li>A reef is made up of coral, which are tiny organisms that grow, harden, and die. But then new coral grows on top of that and the cycle repeats for a very long time. </li></ul><ul><li>Fish and other animals come to live by the reef. </li></ul>

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Life in The Reef <ul><li>There are 1,500 species of fish such as clown fish, triggerfish, coral trout, cuttlefish, red bass, and snappers. </li></ul><ul><li>There are 600 species of echinoderms such as starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. </li></ul><ul><li>There are 360 different types of hard and soft coral. </li></ul>

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Life in The Reef (continued) <ul><li>There are also other unique sea species that live on the reef, such as nudibranch, anemones, snails, seahorses, flatworms, and pipefish. </li></ul><ul><li>Some other species that visit the reef seasonally are bottlenose dolphins, dwarf minke whales, sea turtles, and porpoises. </li></ul>

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Tourism / Snorkeling <ul><li>The Great Barrier Reef is very popular for tourism and a very popular activity is snorkeling. </li></ul><ul><li>Snorkeling is a very good way to see the coral and marine life in the reef. </li></ul><ul><li>And it’s lots of fun! </li></ul>

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Tourism/scuba diving <ul><li>Another popular activity is scuba diving. </li></ul><ul><li>Scuba diving is another way of seeing the reef. </li></ul><ul><li>It gives you a better look at the reef at a lower depth. </li></ul>

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Protecting The Reef <ul><li>The coral in The Great Barrier Reef is very fragile. Snorkelers and scuba divers should not touch any coral because it could kill the coral. </li></ul><ul><li>Human sweat and sun tan lotion that comes off of people can also damage the coral. </li></ul><ul><li>The exhaust from boats and ships is bad for the coral, they also have to stay clear from any coral. </li></ul><ul><li>An oil spill from a ship would do a lot of damage to the coral and marine life. </li></ul>

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Fun Facts <ul><li>The Great Barrier Reef is the only natural structure that you can see from space. </li></ul><ul><li>Full grown coral will eat baby coral. </li></ul><ul><li>If you cut yourself on coral and you don’t clean it, the coral will grow inside your skin. </li></ul><ul><li>The Great Barrier Reef can only live in water 68 degrees Farenheit or higher. </li></ul>

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Fun Facts (continued) <ul><li>The reef’s origin dates back to the last ice age. </li></ul><ul><li>Taking coral from the reef is illegal. </li></ul><ul><li>Giant clams live in The Great Barrier Reef, too. A pearl from a giant clam sold for $10,000,000. </li></ul><ul><li>As recently as April 4, 2010, a Chinese cargo ship hit a portion of The Great Barrier Reef, and caused a 2-ton oil leak. </li></ul>

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The End

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<ul><li>Royalty Free Music from Soundzabound.com </li></ul><ul><li>“ Sonata in A Major” by Mozart </li></ul><ul><li>Performed by Soundzabound </li></ul>

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The Great Barrier Reef By: Matt K.