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History Of The Great Barrier Reef

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How was it formed?
The Great Barrier Reef, it has a length of 1,600 miles (2,600 km) and covers 133,000 square miles (344,400 sq. km). The Great Barrier Reef is the largest structure in the world created by living organisms. It supports a wide diversity of life, this includes fish, whales, dolphins, sea turtles and many more. This is the same reason why reef corals exist, also known as the “rainforest of the ocean”.
What types of rock are found there
There are not types of rocks found in the reef. Most rocks that are found in the reef would be limestone. The rocks found there were mainly limestone because of the life and death of animal organism and plants.
How the rocks where formed
The Great Barrier Reef was formed many years ago. The reef is built on foundations layers of dead coral that was made out of the skeletal and coral fragments and marine forming a wall made out of limestone. Plants, animals and organisms such as oysters, clams, mussels and coral use calcium carbonate (CaCO3) which is found in seawater to create their shells and bones. As these organisms die, their shells and bones are broken down by waves and settle on the ocean floor where they are compacted over millions of years, creating limestone from the sediments and the pressure …show more content…

The reefs on Australia’s continent have taken different form depending on the sea level and the current formation is about 6,000 to 8,000 years old. According to marine science the Great Barrier Reef began to form during the last glacial maximum. This occurred 26,500 to 20,000 years ago. About 13,000 years ago the sea level was 60.95 meters lower than the current level. Soon then the coral started growing around the coastal plain which had become continental islands. The sea level began to rise during a warming period as the glaciers melted. Most of the continental island started to join, and the coral started to form the reef and cays of

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