Part of the Australian coast and Great Barrier Reef, photograhed by the crew of Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-48 of 12-18 September 1991. The Great Barrier Reef is about 2,000km long and lines the continental shelf off the north-east coast. This view is looking north-west, from Ayr near the bottom of the frame to Cairns near the top. The pale green areas of the reef are just below the water, light brown areas (toward the top) are sand banks that have broken the surface. This region is very popular with tourists to the Reef, with holiday centres on the islands just off-shore. The largest of these (1/3 down the coast, dark colour) is Hinchbrook Island.