A Great view from above Jun 11, 2018

A Great view from above

At 132,974 square miles, the Great Barrier Reef is about half the size of Texas, a statistic that becomes even more amazing when you learn the reef was created by teeny, tiny marine invertebrates. Coral reefs are formed when colonies of coral polyps secrete hard exoskeletons made of calcium carbonate, slowly building an underwater home that supports marine life of all shapes and sizes. That’s a feat worth protecting.

© Dick Sweeney/Gallery Stock

palette

Today in History

Jun 11, 2019Installation art turns heads
Jun 11, 2020A midsummer twilight s dream
Jun 11, 2021An island in the Highlands
Jun 11, 2022Misool Island, Indonesia
Jun 11, 2023Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Jun 11, 2024Southern gemsbok in the savannah, Botswana
Jun 11, 2025Greater flamingos, Lüderitz, Namibia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Mar 7, 2019March of the flowers
May 1, 2022AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day
Aug 14, 2022World Lizard Day
Feb 18, 2020Too awesome to be a planet
Sep 20, 2020Celebrating sea otters
Dec 19, 2018Hezké svátky
Jan 11, 2024Eurasian lynx
Dec 15, 2018A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Jul 14, 2020Under Parisian skies
May 28, 2023Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Sep 14, 2023Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
Feb 5, 2018Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
Jun 25, 2020Hoisting a flag for seafarers
Nov 23, 2024Fibonacci Day
Oct 21, 2023International Archaeology Day
Apr 4, 2022Norway s Kjeragbolten boulder
Feb 26, 2020 The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
Apr 24, 2020Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images
Dec 27, 2024Lake Bled, Slovenia
Jan 9, 2021The stylish Spanish shawl
Jul 21, 2019A peek behind the royal curtain
May 23, 2025World Turtle Day
Jan 8, 2024Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
Jan 31, 2022Incense making, Vietnam
Jun 5, 2024World Environment Day
Aug 18, 2023Avatar Mountains, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
Aug 3, 2018Taking the scenic route to Sturgis
Aug 3, 2020The monsoon arrives in the desert
Apr 28, 2024Last day of National Park Week
Nov 13, 2025Quiver trees, Keetmanshoop, Namibia