The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo is a
public aquarium
A public aquarium () or public water zoo is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and aquatic plant, plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, ...
located in the
Dubai Mall
Dubai Mall () is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. The mall is part of Downtown Dubai and is located adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. It includes over 1,200 shops.
History
Dubai Mall was inaugurated on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 reta ...
. It is the biggest aquarium in
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and one of the largest in the world. It has the largest glass tank viewing panel at 107 feet wide and 27 feet tall.
History
The aquarium officially opened on November 4, 2008, along with the rest of the mall. It was developed by
Emaar Properties
Emaar Properties (or simply Emaar) is an Emirati real estate development company located in the United Arab Emirates. The two largest shareholders are Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the UAE's sovereign wealth fund Investment Corpor ...
, the same developer of the mall. At it's time of opening, it was one of the largest aquariums in the world and received the Guinness World Record for largest
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
aquarium. Annually, the aquarium has about 5 million visitors.
On February 25, 2010, the tank had a leak and the whole aquarium was evacuated. Six divers accessed the damage and it was said to be caused by a "small crack".
Exhibits
The Dubai Aquarium features over 300 species of 33,000 different animals including 400 sharks and rays. There is also a 48-meter long, 270 degree glass
shark tunnel
A shark tunnel (or aquarium tunnel, acrylic tunnel and exhibit tunnel) is an underwater tunnel that passes through an aquarium, typically with sharks and related aquatic life.
They are usually made of thick acrylic glass. The first aquarium tunne ...
that goes through the tank and is similar to one in the
Georgia Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The aquarium exhibits hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries, all of which reside in more than of water. It was the larges ...
. There are three zones of the aquarium: rainforest, rocky shore, and ocean. The underwater zoo is on the top floor and features crocodiles, the largest one is named "King Croc".
The tank holds 10 million liters of water and spans 107 feet wide.
It can be viewed on three different floors of the mall. It holds the world record for largest tank viewing panel in the world.
Gallery
File:The Dubai Mall Aquarium and underwater Zoo (Ank Kumar, Infosys) 06.jpg, Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
plaque
File:Unidentified fish6.JPG
File:ドバイ アクアリウム (ドバイ・モール内) - panoramio.jpg
File:The Dubai Mall 172441.jpg, Waterfall
File:Dubai Mall.jpg, Shark tunnel
File:Dubai Mall Aquarium (5768898230).jpg, Entrance
File:Dubai Aquarium.jpg, View from balcony
File:Dubai Aquarium.JPG
File:Dubai Mall Aquarium.jpg, Divers
File:Dubai Aquarium 4.jpg
File:Dubai Aquarium (4129351332).jpg, Shark tunnel
File:Aussie Aquarium in Dubai.jpg, Turtle
File:Akula.JPG, Shark
File:Unidentified Batoidea in Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.jpg, Sting ray
See also
*
List of largest aquariums
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Aquaria in the United Arab Emirates
Buildings and structures in Dubai
Tourist attractions in Dubai
2008 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
Zoos in the United Arab Emirates
Zoos established in 2008