The impressions left by visiting the modern aquariums, can only be described as magical, delightful, unforgettable. Think how a simple 500-liter aquarium in the mall attracts passers-by. Now imagine the same, but in million of liters, and with sharks, turtles, penguins and divers. But there are tens of constructions of this scale in the world. Let’s have a look at the best aquariums of the world.
1. Oceanário de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Opened in 1998, the biggest in Europe, the Lisbon Aquarium consists of a central reservoir that is 32 to 23 meters and a volume of about 5 cubic meters, which is surrounded by four smaller reservoirs of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as well as the inhabitants of the Arctic and Antarctic waters. In total, the aquarium contains more than 8 thousand sea creatures and 500 species of plants.
2. AQWA, Perth, Australia
The aquarium in Perth is notable for the presence of endemic Australian sea creatures collected from all over the coast of Western Australia. The main aquarium has the size of 40х20 meters and a depth of 4.5 meters. But most of all the visitors are attracted by 98-meter underwater tunnel with fully transparent walls through which you can watch the picturesque coral reefs, starfish, sharks, turtles and seals.
3. L’Oceanogràfic, Valencia, Spain
The aquarium Valencia is located in the heart of the amazing futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. This is the largest in Europe, Ocean Park, located in the open air; it covers an area of more than 110 thousand square meters. The main building in the form of water lily was designed by the renowned Spanish architect Felix Candela. 45000 fish and marine animals, which constitute the ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea, the Arctic and Antarctic and tropical seas, live in L’Oceanogràfic.
4. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa Tyuraumi was considered the world’s largest construction of this kind before the construction of the aquarium in Atlanta. A Japanese aquarium is designed so as to best display the marine life of the Japanese islands, and is divided into three zones. First the visitors examine the world of shallow waters and coral reefs, and gradually descend deeper into the aquarium to the inhabitants of waters of warm current of Kuroshio and then to the residents of the mysterious depths, usually hidden from prying eyes.
5. The AquaDom, Berlin, Germany
Built in the 5 * Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin huge aquarium can be called the most impressive aquarium in the world. Raising in the atrium of the hotel the giant cylinder has a height of more than 25 meters and the outer diameter of 11 meters. The volume of the aquarium is nearly one million liters of water and it dwells more than 2600 species of fish with the variety of 56. Inside the cylinder a transparent two-story elevator works, slowly delivers visitors and tourists from the hall on the ground floor through the entire aquarium to the upper observation platform below the large glass dome of the hotel. Lift can accommodate 30 people at the same time.
6. Dubai Aquarium & Discovery Centre, Dubai, UAE
In the Dubai aquarium is inhabited with 33,000 fish and marine animals of 85 different species. Its gigantic viewing window is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest acrylic panel, its size is 32, 88×8.3 meters and the thickness is 750 mm. The aquarium of Dubai is part of a huge shopping and entertainment center, opened in November 2008.
7. The Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, USA
The largest aquarium in the world with capacity of more than 31 thousand cubic meter contains more than 100 thousand inhabitants of water depths. The shape of the building resembles a huge aquarium cruise liner, divided into 60 separate aquariums. The largest makes about three-quarters of the total two whale sharks live there, which are among the largest fish in the ocean. The Aquarium in Atlanta is not only an entertainment center, which is annually visited by more than 2 million people, but also a major base for oceanographic research.
It’s so huge and I would like to go myself and take a picture of everything if I’m allowed that is.
KING OF AQUARIA says: “Read about one of the first aquariums to ever be built in the United States – the Key West Aquarium – at http://www.florida-backroads-travel.com. “