The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports and shipping, recreation, scientific research and Indigenous traditional use. Fishing and the removal of artefacts or wildlife is strictly regulated, and commercial shipping traffic must stick to certain specific defined shipping routes that avoid the most sensitive areas of the park. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and best known coral reef ecosystem in the world. Its reefs, almost 3000 in total, represent about 10 per cent of all the coral reef areas in the world. It supports an amazing variety of biodiversity, providing a home to thousands of coral and other invertebrate species, bony fish, sharks, rays, marine mammals, marine turtles, sea snakes, as well as algae and other marine plants.
Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate protected areas. In 2020, it was estimated a total of 14.2 million hectares or 8.25% of Queensland's landmass was protected.
Byfield National Park is a national park in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia.
Cape Melville National Park is a national park in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. The national park was previously named Cape Melville National Park until it was renamed on 28 November 2013.
Flinders Group National Park is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 1,745 km northwest of Brisbane. The national park was previously named Flinders Group National Park until it was renamed on 28 November 2013.
Howick Group National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,689 km northwest of Brisbane. The national park was previously named Howick Group National Park until it was renamed on 28 November 2013.
Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park.
Baga National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 531 kilometres (330 mi) northwest of Brisbane.
Daarrba National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia. It is 1,602 km northwest of Brisbane. The national park was previously named Mount Webb National Park until it was renamed on 28 November 2013.
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle. The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus-wooded savannahs, tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of the peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna, some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds.
Magnetic Island is an island 8 kilometres (5 mi) offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This 52 km2 (20.1 sq mi) mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large 39.5 km2 (15.3 sq mi) National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the World War II forts.
The Sunshine Coast is a peri-urban region in South East Queensland, Australia. It is the district defined in 1967 as "the area contained in the Shires of Landsborough, Maroochy and Noosa, but excluding Bribie Island". Located 100 km (62 mi) north of the centre of Brisbane in South East Queensland, on the Coral Sea coastline, its urban area spans approximately 60 km (37 mi) of coastline and hinterland from Pelican Waters to Tewantin.
The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of 870 square kilometres (335.9 sq mi). It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the Shire of Maroochy and City of Caloundra to form the Sunshine Coast Region. The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.
Bathurst Bay is a bay in the localities of Lakefield and Starcke in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 19th century it was the base for the pearling fleet. It is now a tourist attraction on Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia, near the Great Barrier Reef.
Kuranda is a rural town and locality on the Atherton Tableland in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Kuranda had a population of 3,008 people. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Cairns, via the Kuranda Range road. It is surrounded by tropical rainforest and adjacent to the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage listed Barron Gorge National Park.
Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Cape Tribulation had a population of 118 people.
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
Mount Carbine is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Mount Carbine had a population of 101 people.
Opalton is a rural locality in the Shire of Winton, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Opalton had a population of 64 people. The Opalton township is located adjacent to the Opalton Opal Field, one of the largest and most extensively worked opal deposits in Queensland.
Starcke is a coastal locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Starcke had a population of 3 people.
