The Great Barrier Reef is considered Australia's greatest national treasure. And it is so, not just for Australia but for the world as the planet's largest coral reef. It takes up 2300 km from Bundaberg to Australia's Northern tip. At the closest point, it is only 30 km away from the coast of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of 3000 individual reefs, 400 types of living and dead coral polyps, 1500 species of fish, 4000 species of clams, 500 types of seaweed, 200 species of birds and half a dozen varieties of turtles. The Great Barrier Reef is a protected site due to its importance to the ecology.