World Reef Awareness Day Jun 1, 2025

"Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there," Sebastian the crab once told Ariel. But are we doing enough to protect that underwater world? On June 1, we celebrate World Reef Awareness Day, a time to recognize the beauty—and fragility—of coral reef ecosystems. One magnificent example is the New Caledonian barrier reef, which wraps around Grande Terre, New Caledonia"s largest island. At over 930 miles long, it"s one of the longest continuous barrier reefs in the world. Its vast 9,300-square-mile lagoon is home to over 2,300 fish species, endangered dugongs, green sea turtles, and migrating humpback whales.

© Karsten Wrobel/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jun 1, 2018In Apia Harbor for Samoan Independence Day
Jun 1, 2019Hiking the High Trestle Trail
Jun 1, 2020The largest living organism on Earth
Jun 1, 2021Pretty poetic for a pit
Jun 1, 2022World Reef Day
Jun 1, 2023World Reef Awareness Day
Jun 1, 2024Pride Month
Jun 1, 2026Happy Pride Month!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 4, 2021A yearly sign that spring has sprung
Aug 19, 2023World Photography Day
Jul 23, 2021Let the games (finally) begin!
Sep 12, 2024World Dolphin Day
Apr 1, 2026National Frog Month
Feb 11, 2020Celebrating women in science
Jun 19, 2020Celebrating freedom
Aug 6, 2020Space-age style by the sea
May 14, 2021A misty morning in Brazil
Jul 8, 2020It s only Wednesday
Jul 28, 2023San Blas Islands, Panama
Nov 17, 2022National Take a Hike Day
May 9, 2019An endless journey
Jun 15, 2022Nature Photography Day
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park in South Dakota
May 14, 2022Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
May 23, 2018Everybody loves World Turtle Day
Sep 7, 2018An historic forest
Jan 29, 2020Staircase of turquoise pools
Jul 16, 2019Hemingway’s Keys
May 6, 2023Azaleas blooming on Hwangmaesan Mountain, South Korea
Oct 26, 2018A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
Feb 26, 2018A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
Jun 4, 2026Snowy egret preening, central Florida
Jul 5, 2019Peel Castle on St. Patrick’s Isle with the Isle of Man in the background
Oct 26, 2020Corfe gets creepy
Feb 13, 2018Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
Sep 30, 2022Southern right whale
Jul 9, 2024Talampaya National Park, Argentina
May 25, 2023Saksun, Faroe Islands, Denmark