The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of which country?

The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of Australia, specifically along the Queensland coast in the Coral Sea. It runs for more than 2,300 kilometres and is separated from the mainland by a broad channel that can be over 160 kilometres wide in places.

It is the world's largest coral reef system, made up of more than 2,900 individual reefs and about 900 islands. Billions of tiny animals called coral polyps build the reef's limestone framework, while algae living inside the corals help provide energy through photosynthesis.

The reef is often confused with a single continuous wall of coral. In reality, it is a vast network of reefs, islands, lagoons and channels with different shapes and ecological conditions. Its marine life includes sea turtles, reef fish, sharks, rays, seabirds and dugongs.

European navigator James Cook encountered the reef in 1770 while charting Australia's east coast, and his ship, Endeavour, was damaged after striking it. The Great Barrier Reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and faces pressures from warming seas, coral bleaching, storms, pollution and crown-of-thorns starfish.