Reef Zone

Begin your journey of discovery here, a great introduction to your Reef HQ experience. Check out the big screen for amazing facts and up to date information about the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef Snapshot and Mangrove exhibits are special features of this zone, linking the land to the sea.

Contrary to its name, the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem is not one long continuous reef, but a complex system of various marine habitats including:

2900 reefs

600 continental islands

300 coral cays

The Great Barrier Reef incorporates a large number of different habitats and ecosystems. A huge diversity of important habitats including coral reefs, seagrasses, mangroves, sponge gardens and muddy seabed communities. This size underlies the vast diversity of marine life occurring on the Reef, which is considered to be to the global centre of marine biodiversity.