The Great Barrier Reef, located in the Coral Sea off the eastern coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, consists of more than 2,800 reefs that range in size from 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares in area. As the largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef is 1,250 mi (2,011 km) in length, extending from a point near McKay, Queensland in the south to the Torres Strait in the north, which lies between Australia and New Guinea. The Reef is 45 mi (72 km) across at its widest point, with a total area of more than 300,000 square kilometers. Approximately 20% of the reefs are submerged reefs or shoals, while about 26% are fringing reefs around continental islands or along the mainland coast. The remaining reefs are shelf reef platforms. Water depths range from 65.6–98 ft (20–30 m) in lagoonal areas to 131–197 ft (40–60 m) between the reefs on the outer shelf. Starting in the...