Set, between the Tropic of Capricorn and the equator, the Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the great natural wonders of the world. It is considered this because it stretches some 2,000 kilometres from north to south and an area of 207,000 square kilometres.   A barrier reef is a long, narrow, mostly submerged coral formation that lies parallel to the shoreline of a landmass. A reef is composed of millions of tiny coral skeletal remains. Since corals have no backbone they support their soft bodies within hollow shells of bonelike material made of calcium carbonate. When one coral dies it's shell is left behind and another coral moves into it. In 1770 Captain James Cook made the Great Barrier Reef known to the Western World. His ship, the Endeavour, ran aground on a reef 32 kilometres from land.

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