Garie Beach

How was the Great Barrier Reef formed?

What forces, over what period of time, contributed to its formation?

Public Comments

1. Geology and geography Satellite image of part of the Great Barrier Reef adjacent to the Queensland coastal areas of Proserpine and Mackay.Australia moved northwards at a rate of 7 cm per year, starting during the Cainozoic.[9] Eastern Australia experienced a period of tectonic uplift, leading to the drainage divide in Queensland moving 400 km inland. Also during this time, Queensland experienced volcanic eruptions leading to central and shield volcanoes and basalt flows.[10] Some of these granitic outcrops have become high islands.[11] After the Coral Sea Basin was formed, coral reefs began to grow in the Basin, but until about 25 million years ago, northern Queensland was still in temperate waters south of the tropics - too cool to support coral growth.[12] The history of the development of the Great Barrier Reef is complex; after Queensland drifted into tropical waters, the history is largely influenced by how reefs fluctuate (grow and recede) as the sea level changes.[13] They can increase in diameter from 1 to 2 centimetres per year, and grow vertically anywhere from 1 to 15 centimetres (0.4–12 in) per year