Any fan of aquariums always wants more water, even if they visit one or more of the most impressive aquariums in the world. Some of these large aquariums offer a huge amount of entertainment, as well as many exhibits and interesting information about them. It is not easy to give them the opportunity to learn something new about life under the water column, but they also transfer visitors to a completely different world, immersing them in a fabulous atmosphere.
Want to learn about the 10 largest aquariums in the world? Then grab our list and start planning your trip!
* For the volume of the aquarium, we take the volume of water in all tanks of the building.
11
AquaDom (volume: 2 375 m³)
It may be that the Berlin Aquadom is not the largest aquarium in the world, but its appearance will surely delight you. The aquarium has a cylindrical structure, and is located in the atrium of the metropolitan Radisson Hotel. The diameter of the aquarium is 11 meters, with a 25-meter height. The volume of the "pool" slightly exceeds one million liters of water, and the weight of the entire structure is 2 tons.
Atrium visitors can admire various living organisms, the total number of which totals 2.6 thousand species. An elevator is installed in the center of the aquarium, raising people to the very top of the structure. There is an observation deck and glass through which you can see all the inhabitants of AquaDom. Interestingly, the total cost of the aquarium construction did not reach up to 13 million euros.
10
Baltimore National Aquarium (Volume: 2,498 m³)
This aquarium is located in the US city of Baltimore and is a non-profit institution. Since its construction in 1981, more than one and a half million people visit the National Aquarium annually. The total amount of water filling the aquarium exceeds 8 million liters.
In addition to marine life, visitors to the National Aquarium can see various exhibits in the tropical terrarium located on the roof of the building. In total, the Baltimore Aquarium contains about 17,000 living creatures, divided into 750 different species.
It is noteworthy that the aquarium exists not only for the entertainment of visitors, but for solving the problems of preserving rare species of marine life. Many scientists work within the walls of the institution, setting themselves the goal of resisting pollution of the world's oceans. Also in the aquarium educational programs are held for everyone.
9
Monterey Bay Oceanarium (volume: 4,500 m³)
Photo by: Rhinopias / wikipedia.org
This famous California aquarium is located in Monterey. It was opened in the mid 80-ies of the last century, and has two large water tanks. Only one of the tanks contains about 4.5 million liters of water. He also has one of the widest glasses in the world that restrains water mass.
Interestingly, more than 400 people work in the aquarium, who maintain order and care for more than 600 species of marine life. Like the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Monterrey Aquarium has hosted an Institute for the Study of World Ocean Problems. True, unlike Baltimore, Monterey does not exist at the expense of the state, but thanks to commercial activities. A little less than 2 million people visit it annually.
8
Shanghai Aquarium (volume: 4,950 m³)
This aquarium is filled with more than 4.9 million liters of water, making it one of the largest not only in Asia, but throughout the world. The inhabitants of the aquarium are divided by habitat (South American zone, China zone, etc.). As well as the aquarium contains several endangered species.
A special pride of the leadership of the Shanghai Aquarium is the underwater tunnel, whose length is 168 meters. This is the longest tunnel in the world, surrounded by water. The oceanarium was opened in 2002, the total area of construction exceeds 20 thousand square meters.
By the way, on our site thebiggest.ru there is an interesting article about the longest tunnels in the world.
7
Antalya Aquarium (volume: 5,000 m³)
Many vacationers in Turkey know this wonderful aquarium. This is one of the most popular holiday destinations for tourists visiting Antalya. The highlight of this aquarium is the 130-meter underwater tunnel, passing through which you will see animals of various climatic zones.
If your hotel is located in the vicinity of Antalya, we highly recommend that you use a regular shuttle bus and pre-buy a ticket to this aquarium through their official website (in Russian). You will be very surprised that the ticket price will be 300-600 rubles per adult. A child ticket costs even less. A bus ticket is also very inexpensive.
6
TurkuaZoo (volume: 7,000 m³)
This Turkish aquarium was opened in 2009. Today it is considered one of the largest aquariums in the world. TurkuaZoo is located inside the Istanbul Trade Center Forum. It consists not only of a huge reservoir, in the form of an underwater tunnel, but also represents a model of a rainforest with its characteristic representatives of flora and fauna.
The aquarium also offers visitors to admire the flooded forest. The total amount of water in the aquarium is 7,000 liters, and the largest tank is filled with 5,000 liters of water.
Initially, TurkuaZoo was supposed to be one of the largest entertainment centers in Istanbul, but later research activities were developed in it. It is not surprising, because there is something and someone to explore, about 10 thousand living creatures live in the aquarium.
5
Okinawa Churaumi (volume: 10,000 m³)
The Japanese Oceanarium Churaumi is located on Okinawa Island in the Ocean Expo Exhibition Park. It was opened in 2002, the most visited exhibit of the oceanarium is the huge Kuroshio aquarium, which holds about 7.5 million liters of water, which is separated from visitors by thick acrylic glass.
The aquarium is home to many sea creatures, totaling more than 26 thousand. Among them, according to thebiggest.ru editorial office, giant sea devils (manta rays) and whale sharks are of particular interest. In the world there are only a few aquariums that are able to care for whale sharks.
It is interesting that in addition to Kuroshio, there are several smaller aquariums in the aquarium that house manatees, dolphins, sea turtles and other underwater creatures.
4
Dubai Mall Aquarium (volume: 10,000 m³)
This giant aquarium is located in one of the world's largest shopping malls, the Dubai Mall. The total volume of water that the aquarium is filled with is about 10 million liters! Visitors can observe 33 thousand marine inhabitants through a huge acrylic glass (argues with the glass of the Okinawan Aquarium for the title of the largest in the world). Only sharks (including tiger) and stingrays in the aquarium more than 4 hundred.
The aquarium works not only as an exhibition center, but also as an educational institution. Thousands of students from all over the world take courses on marine topics, including the adaptation of the inhabitants of the sea in aquariums, their tactics of survival and reproduction.
3
UShaka Marine World (volume: 17 500 m³)
This is not an easy aquarium, but a whole park with a marine theme. It is located in Durban, in the Republic of South Africa. The entire park covers an area of 16 hectares of land, on which 32 reservoirs are located, 17,500 tons of water, which makes it the largest aquarium on the African continent.
The park is divided into 8 zones, and the aquarium is built in the form of sunken buildings under water. One of the main attractions of uShaka Marine World is the restaurant with a full-wall aquarium. This aquarium is inhabited by sharks that will vigilantly monitor your meal. In total, about 10,000 sea creatures live in the park.
2
Georgia Aquarium (volume: 38,000 m³)
And the first place in our rating is rightfully occupied by the Georgia Aquarium, which is located in Atlanta. The construction of the aquarium in 2005 was made possible thanks to a grant of $ 250 million from one of the shareholders of Home Depot (a chain of household appliances) Bernie Marcus.
The aquarium has gained worldwide fame thanks to several things. First of all, this is a giant tank with 23 million liters of water! Inside this tank, the Ocean Voyager is flooded. The second attraction of the aquarium is the shark population.
This is the only aquarium that is not located in Asia, which contains whale sharks in its walls. Although human rights activists are still debating about the legality of their presence there, as two sharks have already died. Experts express concern about the impossibility of their being in such an environment.
1
L’Oceanografic Valencia Oceanographic Park (volume: 42,000 m³)
An oceanographic park located in Spanish Valencia. It was built in 2003 and is part of the City of Arts and Sciences. The park covers an area of 110 thousand square meters, and its crown is the largest oceanarium in Europe, whose water volume exceeds 42 million liters. Moreover, the largest reservoir is filled with 7 million liters of water.
The oceanarium is home to over 45 thousand marine creatures, among which there are animals listed in the Red Book. The Valencia Oceanographic Park attracts not only with its interior, but also with its exterior. It is built in a modern style, attracting the attention of tourists from afar. Divided into zones, the park contains not only underwater creatures, but also many mammals and reptiles, and one of the zones invites visitors to admire exotic plants.
Conclusion
If you have the opportunity to visit at least one of these aquariums - do it without hesitation. Most of them also contain research institutes, where scientists from all over the world solve the problem of cleansing the world's oceans and preserving rare species of marine life. Well, for us, this is a great opportunity to see a lot of animals and fish not in cramped glass "lockers", but in huge tanks filled with purified water suitable for their life.
In conclusion, TheBiggest.ru editors ask you to write how big aquariums you saw personally, as well as which of the places you have visited or would like to visit.