Home > Browse by Topics > Physical environment and geography > Geographic features > Islands and cays > GBR - Features: Reef boundaries, Queensland Coastline, Islands, Cays and Rocks (GBRMPA)

GBR - Features: Reef boundaries, Queensland Coastline, Islands, Cays and Rocks (GBRMPA)

Posted on 27 April 2009

This dataset contains two shapefiles describing the boundaries of the coral reefs within the Great Barrier Reef.

The first shapefile (GBR_FEATURES.shp) contains coastal features within and adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area. This is the dataset used by Google Maps for its reef outlines. The features in this dataset have a resolution of approximately 1:50,000. The following features are included:

  • Queensland mainland coastline
  • Major and other coral reef structures (as defined by the reef shoal edge) within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
  • Islands and rocks (exposed and submerged)
  • Major coral cay features. These correspond to the outer boundaries of the reefs based on a survey done by the GBRMPA using Landsat imagery.

The second shapefile (GBRMPA_reefs-dry_reefs) contains major tidal, drying or emergent reef areas within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

To obtain this dataset go to the GBRMPA spatial information website, download the appropriate data usage agreement and send it through to gis@gbrmpa.gov.au. The GBRMPA name for this dataset is "Great Barrier Reef features".

KML files for this dataset (and others) can be obtained from the GBRMPA Google Maps page.
 

  • Data Administrator
Custodian(s)
  • Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Owner Institution(s)

GBR_FEATURES.shp: Polygon Vector Shape file (5376 features)

  • GBR_NAME: Name of the reef feature. Examples: "Tree Reef", "Pitt Rock", "U/N Reef"
  • GBR_ID: Unique ID for features on the GBR, useful for cross referencing with other systems. Examples: 10316, 10320, 10330 for GBR_NAME examples above.
  • FEAT_NAME: Reef, Mainland, Rock (exposed), Rock (submerged), Island, Cay, Sand

GBR_DRY_REEF.shp: Polygon Vector Shape file (2318 features)

  • GBR_NAME: Name of the reef feature. Examples: "Mai Reef", "Middle Brother Reef", "U/N Reef"
  • GBR_ID: As above
Data Units
Queensland and Great Barrier Reef (N=-10.3, S=-29.2, E=153.6, W=138.0)
Region & Spatial Extent
1989
Data Collection
Complete, Irregular
Maintenance & Update Frequency
The Data is subject to Copyright. Usage must comply with signed data usage agreement. Appropriate acknowledgement of the custodian must be created in all outputs. No third party usage is permitted without prior written consent of the custodian.
Resource Constraints
GBR_GBRMPA_GBR-features
Dataset Short Name
Maps
Topics