Ningaloo Reef

Ningaloo Reef runs about 260 kilometers along the coast of northwest Western Australia, roughly 1,200 kilometers north of Perth, and is Australia's largest fringing coral reef and the only major reef system lying so close to a continental landmass, in places reaching within 500 meters of shore. The reef and its surrounding waters, protected as the 705,015 hectare Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Site, support about 500 fish species, 300 coral species and 600 mollusk species, and provide breeding habitat for loggerhead, green and hawksbill sea turtles. Whale sharks gather to feed along the reef from March to August, alongside manta rays, dugongs, dolphins and migrating humpback whales, though marine heatwaves triggered coral bleaching events in 2011 and again in 2025.