The Ningaloo Coast has recently been inscribed on the World Heritage List for its natural beauty and biological diversity - so the Ningaloo-Shark Bay National Landscape now has two World Heritage areas at its northern and southern ends.

World Heritage Listing is the highest global recognition of the importance of a site, acknowledging the Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay regions as two of the most outstanding natural places in the world.

The boundary of the new Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area encompasses more than 600,000 hectares and includes the Commonwealth and State waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park; Cape Range National Park; Muiron Islands Marine Management Area and Nature Reserve; and Jurabi and Bundegi coastal parks. Shark Bay previously received World Heritage listing in 1991.

Visitors to the region have the opportunity to encounter one of the world’s largest aggregations of Whale Sharks, as well as marine mammals, turtles and manta rays, and many rare and diverse plants and animals found within Cape Range.

Ningaloo Reef is one of the most beautiful and accessible coral reefs in the world, and is ranked seventh on the world’s list of coral reef biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and second in terms of the number of species found within a limited range.

The listing of the Ningaloo Coast means the area joins sites such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, Egypt’s Pyramids, Yellowstone National Park, Stonehenge and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park in world importance.