Blog 6: Great Barrier Reef

1. The Great Barrier Reef is considered the "largest living structure on Earth".
2. Coral extracts calcium carbonate from the ocean to make solid tentacles
3. Red algae acts structures coral by "cementing" calcium carbonate and sand together
4. The Great Barrier Reef became a natural park in 1975
5. 33% of the Great Barrier Reef is fully protected from fishing
6. The Great Barrier Reef appears to be 20 thousand years old, but scientists have found evidence of ancient corals that are a half million years old.