Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Georgia Aquarium- A Place Where Ocean Comes Alive

The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States at Pemberton Place, is the world’s largest aquarium with more than 8.5-million-US-gallon (32,000 m3) of marine and fresh water housing more than 120,000 animals of 500 different species. The aquarium’s notable specimens include four young whale sharks, four beluga whales, and four manta rays. Funded mostly by a $250 million donation from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, the aquarium was built on a 20 acre (81,000 m²) site north of Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. Marcus credited his 60th birthday dinner at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1990 among the inspirations behind his desire to build an aquarium in Atlanta.

The Georgia Aquarium contains between 100,000 and 120,000 fish and other sea creatures, representing more than five hundred species. On June 14, 2005, the total number of specimens was unveiled after having previously being reported as “over 55,000″.

The Georgia Aquarium is the only institution outside of Asia to house whale sharks. The sharks are kept in a 6.3-million-US-gallon (24,000 m3) tank, and the aquarium was actually designed around the whale shark exhibit.

The aquarium’s animals are displayed in six different galleries: Georgia Explorer, Tropical Diver, Ocean Voyager, Cold Water Quest, River Scout, and Dolphin Tales. Each corresponds to a specific environment.

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