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The Daily Insight

How long is the Daintree rainforest

Author

Sarah Rodriguez

Published Apr 05, 2026

One of the Daintree Rainforest’s best facts is related to its sheer size. The biggest tropical rainforest in Australia, the region stretches across 1,200 square kilometres which is roughly around four times the size of Malta, or Sydney Harbour 162 times over.

How large is the Daintree forest?

The largest rainforest in Australia, the Daintree Rainforest is over 1,200 square kilometres and is home to many animal and plant species not found anywhere else in the world.

How far does the Daintree Rainforest stretch?

The Daintree Rainforest was added to the world heritage list in 1988. The area protected under World Heritage listing covers an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres and stretches from Townsville to Cooktown.

Where does the Daintree Rainforest start and end?

The 95 km (60 mile) Daintree region starts at Mossman Gorge, an hour’s drive north of Cairns, continues past Daintree Village, across the Daintree River, through the rainforest of Daintree National Park to Cape Tribulation and along the Bloomfield Track towards Cooktown.

What is the largest rainforest in Australia?

Daintree; a Tropical Rainforest The Daintree is situated in the Wet Tropics of Queensland and is indeed a Tropical Rainforest. In fact, it is part of the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest in Australia.

What is the biggest rainforest in the world?

The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest. It’s home to more than 30 million people and one in ten known species on Earth. See some of this region’s splendor in our new video.

How old is the Daintree forest?

The Daintree Rainforest is at least 135 million years old – possibly even as old as 180 million years! It is the world’s oldest tropical lowland rainforest.

How has the Daintree changed over time?

During this period of drifting, the landscape changed as global conditions became colder and drier. Rainforests contracted and became drier forests that evolved with the domination of the eucalypts. … The Daintree is now acknowledged as the longest living, continuously growing rainforest on the planet.

What is the oldest rainforest on earth?

The region referred to as the ‘Daintree Rainforest‘ covers an area of approximately 1200 square kilometres and extends from the Daintree River, north of Cooktown and west to the Great Divide. It is the oldest intact lowland tropical rainforest in the world, thought to be around 180 million years old.

What's the oldest forest in the world?

The Daintree Rainforest is estimated to be about 180 million years old making it the oldest forest in the world. In addition to being the oldest forest, the Daintree is also one of the largest continuous areas of rainforest in Australia – the Daintree Rainforest covers about 460 square miles (1,200 square kilometers).

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How many animals live in the Daintree?

Animals in the Daintree are enough to impress even the most avid nature spotter! This unique rainforest ecosystem is home to 430 bird species, 12,000 insect species and 30% of Australia’s reptile, frog and marsupial species.

How many species live in the Daintree Rainforest?

Around 3,000 plant species from over 210 families are found within the Daintree Rainforest and extended wet tropics region.

Is the Daintree Rainforest the largest rainforest in the world?

At around 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi), the Daintree is a part of the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent. The Daintree Rainforest is a part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland Rainforest, that spans across the Cairns Region.

Where is 50% of the world rainforest located?

The bulk of the world’s tropical rainforest occurs in the Amazon Basin in South America. The Congo Basin and Southeast Asia, respectively, have the second and third largest areas of tropical rainforest.

How old is the Daintree forest in Australia?

The Daintree Rainforest is now a ripe old age of 180 million years. That’s right, 10 million years older than the Amazon!

Is the Daintree a wonder of the world?

It is the oldest rainforest in the world at more than one hundred and thirty five million years of age and is home to the largest and most diverse range of plants and animals on earth. The Daintree Rainforest is a World Heritage listed site and another one of the natural wonders of the world.

What is the oldest rainforest in Malaysia?

Taman Negara Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It has been around for 130 million years, which means the forest, once upon a time, used to accommodate dinosaurs. Spanning over a 4343 sq. km, Taman Negara is one of Malaysia’s premier and the most popular tourist destinations.

How big is the Daintree rainforest for kids?

Daintree Rainforest – Australia The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest located on the east coast of Australia’s Queensland. It covers a large area of 1,200 square miles. It is the world’s oldest remaining tropical rainforest as it is estimated to be at least 180 million years old.

What is so special about the Daintree rainforest?

The Daintree is one of the best biologically diverse rainforests in the world. Home to a huge percentage of the entire country’s animal population. This includes 30% of Australia’s frog population, 65% of butterfly and bats and around 12,000 different insect species. As well as being diverse, the animals are unique.

What are the 5 major rainforests?

This article focuses specifically on the world’s tropical rainforests. The following charts show the extent of primary forest cover and tree cover in the tropics for the world’s five largest blocks of rainforest: Amazon, Congo, Australiasia, Sundaland, and Indo-Burma.

How many rainforests are there in the world 2021?

There are only seven temperate rainforests in the world. Tropical rainforests have 40–100 tree species per one hectare of land. Over 30 million people live in the Amazon rainforest, rainforest statistics show.

What is the 2nd biggest forest in the world?

Second largest in our list of largest forests in the world, Congo Rainforest, Africa is located across the boundaries of six countries, i.e. namely Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

How was the Daintree formed?

The landscape of Daintree National Park (CYPAL) began to form under the sea about 400 million years ago, when Australia was still part of the great super-continent, Gondwana. Ancient rivers carried sediments to the coast, situated more than 100 km west of its present position.

Are there crocodiles in the Daintree River?

CROCODILES. There are two species of crocodiles in Australia, the Saltwater and Freshwater species, and only the “salties” inhabit the Daintree River. It’s scientific name is Crocodylus Porosus and its habitat ranges throughout the Indo Pacific regions.

How old is the wet tropics?

Roam the World’s oldest tropical rainforest The Wet Tropics is 80 million years older than the Amazon, a vast swathe of pristine wilderness running from Cooktown in the state’s far north to Townsville in the south.

Is the Daintree in danger?

Unfortunately for us, we fall under the category prey with these creatures, with numerous deaths and injuries throughout history, with an average of two fatal occurrences per year. Daintree is swarming with crocs, all looming in rivers, watering holes, and the nearby ocean.

What have humans done to the Daintree Rainforest?

Farming affects the Daintree Rainforest because farmers burn the rainforest in order to clear land for more farming. … Tourism is a problem because as interest in the Daintree Rainforest grows, more buses and transport is needed to keep up with demand and that increases the carbon dioxide and impacts on climate change.

What is the biggest threat to the Daintree Rainforest?

Rural residential development: Clearing of the rainforest for residential development remains the greatest threat to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest leading to fragmentation, displacement of wildlife, and susceptibility to invasive weeds all of which threaten the biodiversity values which make the Daintree Rainforest …

Is there any virgin timber left?

Ancient cedars (right) and virgin stands of forest (left) are interspersed with beautiful waterfalls in Alaska’s Tongass. An old growth forest is one of the terms used to describe a forest area that has been able to age significantly without human or natural alterations.

What is the oldest tree on the planet?

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva) has been deemed the oldest tree in existence, reaching an age of over 5,000 years old. The Bristlecone pines’ success in living a long life can be attributed to the harsh conditions it lives in.

Where is the Black Forest?

Black Forest, German Schwarzwald, mountain region, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, source of the Danube and Neckar rivers.