About Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef lies between continental Australia and the open ocean of the South Pacific, and its climate is strongly influenced by both. It has a tropical climate, with temperatures ranging between 24 to 33 degrees in summer and 14 – 26 degrees in winter. Up to 85% of the regions rainfall falls in November and ends around May, but there are on average 300 days of sunshine per year. 

The main cities parallel to The Great Barrier Reef are Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay and Bundaberg. The seabed inside the three-mile territorial limit is vested in the State of Queensland by the Coastal Waters Act of 1980. It is subject to reservations, primarily by the operation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act of 1975. Rights to explore the seabed of the continental shelf beyond the territorial limit are vested in the Federal Government.

The immense diversity of marine life encompasses thousands of different species of fish, turtles, sharks, whales, and thousands more.  Also, being the worlds largest coral reef ecosystem, thousands of plant species inhabit it with over 4,000,000 hectares of lagoon vegetated.