What is the world's largest continuous barrier reef called?

The world’s largest continuous barrier reef system is the Great Barrier Reef, stretching along Australia’s Queensland coast. It lies in the Coral Sea and is made up of more than 2,900 individual reefs and hundreds of islands. Its immense scale makes it visible from space under suitable conditions, although it is not one unbroken wall of coral.

The reef was built over geological time by billions of tiny coral polyps. Much of the modern reef began developing after the last ice age, when rising sea levels submerged parts of the coastal plain and allowed corals to grow around former hills and islands. The present living reef structure is generally considered several thousand years old, resting on older reef platforms.

The Great Barrier Reef supports an extraordinary variety of marine life, including sea turtles, reef fish, sharks, dolphins, and giant clams. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and is protected in large part by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. “Largest” refers to the whole reef system; individual reefs such as Ningaloo and the Belize Barrier Reef are different, smaller systems.