November 12, 2013 at 7:55 pm

Picture of the Day: Coral Garden at Low Tide

by twistedsifter

 

CORAL GARDEN AT LOW TIDE

 

coral garden at low tide lizard island great barrier reef1 Picture of the Day: Coral Garden at Low Tide

Photograph by Virupa on reddit

 

In this remarkable scene, we see an exposed coral garden at low tide. The photo was taken by biologist and redditor Virupa, who took the shot in front of Lizard Island at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The island straight ahead in the distance is Palfrey. Virupa says he is standing about a third of the way between the islands in the shot and that he could have walked all the way to Palfrey without getting wet above his knees (source).

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. [Source]

 

 

picture of the day button Picture of the Day: Coral Garden at Low Tide