NOVA DocumEntarY: TrEasureS of the GreAt BArriEr ReeF








The GreAt BarriEr ReeF


AusTRALlia has got the wOrld's lArgest cOral rEEf sYstem of the wOrld, compOsed of Over 2,900 indiVIdual rEEfs and 900 IslAnds. 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 buiILt 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. CNN conSIdered it As one of the SEven NAtural WOnders of the WOrld.   



The DEsert´s MerMAid: Big WAve SuRfinG in OZ


aN iNTeRESteD EmU


The BUnyiP


In Dreamtime the Bunyip was a spirit, which inhabited river, lakes, swamps, and billabongs (former parts of rivers that were left behind when the course of the river was altered). To the Aborigines the Bunyip was a beast of many different shapes and sizes: some were covered in feathers others had scales like crocodiles
The Bunyip was malevolent towards humans, devouring those who invadad  its watery home.
Australia Bunyip Stamp
Aboriginal oral traditional stories about the Bunyip, may reflect the memories of encounters between the aborigines and the Diprotodon, passed down through the centuries. The Diprotodon was a herbivore and the largest marsupial ever to have existed. It became extinct between fifteen and twenty thousand years ago. 


AusTRALlia has 30 impAct crAters out of 176 wOrldwide...!


The Wolfe Creek crater in Western Australia is the best known meteorite crater in Australia. (Image: Dick and Pip Smith)
Wolfe Creek meteorite crater, in the North West.
It was formed 300,000 years ago. 
AusTRALia´s GeoGRAphic.


AusTRALia´s MEgaFauna StAmpS


Australian Megafauna roamed the Australian continent many thousands and even millions of years ago and became extinct between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago (with the exception of the Tasmanian Tiger).
Many of these animals, including the marsupial lion and the large kangaroo, co-existed with humans.

With sOme friEnds...