Which sea is home to the Great Barrier Reef?

The Coral Sea is home to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system. It stretches along the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, within the Coral Sea’s western region.

The Great Barrier Reef is not a single continuous wall of coral. It is a vast network containing more than 2,900 individual reefs and around 900 islands, extending for roughly 2,300 kilometres. Billions of tiny coral polyps build the reef by secreting hard calcium-carbonate skeletons.

The reef’s current structure began developing on an older platform after sea levels rose near the end of the last Ice Age. Coral growth depends on sunlight, so reefs generally thrive in warm, shallow water. The Great Barrier Reef was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.

A common mix-up is to treat the reef as part of the Arafura Sea or the Tasman Sea. The Arafura Sea lies north of Australia, while the Tasman Sea lies farther south between Australia and New Zealand. The Coral Sea also gave its name to the Battle of the Coral Sea, fought in May 1942 during World War II.