Currents
March 2016
Globetrotter
By: Max Edwards
Barrier Reef Delivers Awe
Sydney is a first stop in Australia, with Ayers Rock
a popular inland trip. Few, unless they are divers,
seek out nature's masterpiece, The Great Barrier Reef.
But it is a must-see, among the world's Top Ten
Wonders.
The Reef stretches 1,400 miles off the northeast
coast of Queensland. It comprises 3,000 reefs, 900
islands, and hundreds of coral cays spread over
133,000 square miles of the Coral Sea. Its miles-long
white-sand beaches, seen from the air, are unspoiled
enclaves amidst lush foliage [see photo].
Not a fossil, but a living organism, The Reef is
abloom with billions of coral polyps, some 400
species. The Reef is the world's largest marine preserve, home to 5,000 types of mollusks, and myriad
fish and aquatic species, such as whales, dolphins,
porpoises, sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles. Millions
of birds visit The Reef.
During a warm interglacial
period, 600,000 years ago, with
sea levels 350 feet higher than
today, The Reef's limestone platform was built. Today's Reef
structure is about 20,000 years
old, with the greatest growth
spurt occurring 8,000 years ago.
Once home to one-third of the
worl