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.[1]
Most aquarium tunnels are cylindrical in shape, though tunnels can be made elliptical (to make them wider and still keep the top of the tunnel closer to the visitors), or even square.[2]
List of aquariums with shark tunnels
This list is sorted alphabetically by aquarium name.
| Aquarium name | Location | Length of tunnel | Depth of tunnel floor in aquarium | Tank size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventure Aquarium | Camden, New Jersey, United States | 40 ft (12 m) | 9 ft (2.7 m) | 550,000 US gal (2,100,000 L) |
| Antalya Aquarium[3] | Antalya, Turkey | 430 ft (131 m) | 11 ft (3.7 m) | 1,300,000 US gal (5,000,000 L) |
| Aquaria KLCC[4] | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 300 ft (90 m) | ? | ? |
| Aquarium Barcelona[5] | Barcelona, Spain | 260 ft (80 m) | 16 ft (5 m) | 980,000 US gal (3,700,000 L) |
| Aquarium of the Bay[6] | San Francisco, California, United States | 300 ft (91 m) | ? | 700,000 US gal (2,600,000 L) |
| Aquarium of Western Australia | Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 322 ft (98 m) | ? | 790,000 US gal (3,000,000 L) |
| Audubon Aquarium of the Americas | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | 30 ft (9.1 m) | ? | ? |
| California Academy of Sciences (rainforest exhibit)[7] | San Francisco, California, United States | 25 ft (7.6 m) | ? | 100,000 US gal (380,000 L) |
| Cebu Ocean Park | Cebu City, Philippines | ? | ? | ? |
| Dallas World Aquarium | Dallas, Texas, United States | ? | ? | ? |
| Deep Sea World | North Queensferry, Fife, Scotland | 367 ft (112 m) | 9.8 ft (3 m)[8] | 1,000,000 imp gal (4,500,000 L; 1,200,000 US gal) |
| Oceanium at Diergaarde Blijdorp | Rotterdam, the Netherlands | ? | ? | ? |
| Downtown Aquarium, Denver | Denver, Colorado, United States | ? | ? | ? |
| Downtown Aquarium, Houston | Houston, Texas, United States | ? | ? | ? |
| Dubai Mall Aquarium - Underwater Zoo[9] | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 167 ft (51 m) | ? | 2,600,000 US gal (10,000,000 L) |
| Funtastic Aquariums Anzali | Anzali, Iran | 111 ft (34 m) | 14 ft (4.5 m) | 370,000 US gal (1,400,000 L) |
| Funtastic Aquariums Izmir | İzmir, Turkey | 39 ft (12 m) | 11 ft (3.5 m) | 400,000 US gal (1,500,000 L) |
| Georgia Aquarium | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | 100 ft (30 m) | 20–30 ft (6.1–9.1 m) | 6,300,000 US gal (24,000,000 L) |
| Greater Cleveland Aquarium[10] | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | 175 ft (53 m) | 9 ft (2.7 m) | 230,000 US gal (870,000 L) |
| Henry Doorly Zoo | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | 70 ft (21 m) | 17 ft (5.2 m) | 900,000 US gal (3,400,000 L) |
| Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium | Auckland, New Zealand | 72 ft (22 m) | 8 ft (2.4 m) | 400,000 US gal (1,500,000 L) |
| Manila Ocean Park | Manila, Philippines | ? | ? | ? |
| Maui Ocean Center | Maalaea, Hawaii, United States | 54 ft (16 m) | ? | 750,000 US gal (2,800,000 L) |
| National Aquarium Denmark (Blue Planet)[11] | Kastrup, Copenhagen, Denmark | 52 ft (16 m) | ? | 1,100,000 US gal (4,000,000 L) |
| National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium[12] | Checheng Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan | 260 ft (80 m) | ? | 1,500,000 US gal (5,700,000 L) |
| Nausicaä Centre National de la Mer[13] | Boulogne-sur-Mer, France | 59 ft (18 m) | ? | 2,600,000 US gal (10,000,000 L) |
| Newport Aquarium | Newport, Kentucky, United States | 85 ft (26 m) | 13 ft (4.0 m) † | 380,000 US gal (1,400,000 L) |
| Ocean Park Hong Kong | Hong Kong | ? | ? | ? |
| Oklahoma Aquarium | Jenks, Oklahoma, United States | 90 ft (27 m) | 12–14 ft (3.7–4.3 m) | 500,000 US gal (1,900,000 L) |
| Oregon Coast Aquarium | Newport, Oregon, United States | 175 ft (53 m) | ? | 1,320,000 US gal (5,000,000 L) |
| Parc Aquarium du Québec | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | ? | ? | 92,000 US gal (350,000 L) |
| Polaria[14] | Tromsø, Norway | ? | ? | ? |
| Ripley's Aquarium | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States | 330 ft (100 m) | ? | 750,000 US gal (2,800,000 L) |
| Ripley's Aquarium of Canada[15] | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 315 ft (96 m) | 770,000 US gal (2,900,000 L) | |
| SeaWorld Orlando | Orlando, Florida, United States | 60 ft (18 m) | ? | ? |
| Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World | Bangkok, Thailand | ? | ? | ? |
| SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | 300 ft (91 m) | ? | ? |
| SeaWorld San Diego[16] | San Diego, California, United States | 57 ft (17 m) | ? | 280,000 US gal (1,100,000 L) |
| Shanghai Ocean Aquarium[17] | Shanghai, China | 390 ft (120 m) | ? | 580,000 US gal (2,200,000 L) |
| Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | ? | ? | ? |
| Shedd Aquarium(upcoming) | Chicago, Illinois, United States | ? | ? | ? |
| Sydney Aquarium | Sydney, Australia | ? | ? | 530,000 US gal (2,000,000 L) |
| Taraporewala Aquarium | Mumbai, India | 12 ft (3.7 m) | ? | ? |
| Turkuazoo[18] | Istanbul, Turkey | 262 ft (80 m) | ? | ? |
| The National Aquarium | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 167 ft (51 m) | 11 ft (3.5 m) | 930,000 US gal (3,500,000 L) |
| Underwater World[19] | Langkawi, Malaysia | 49 ft (15 m) | ? | 130,000 US gal (500,000 L) |
| Underwater World[20] | Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia | ? | ? | ? |
| Underwater World[21] | Sentosa, Singapore | 272 ft (83 m) | ? | ? |
| Vinpearl Underwater World[22] | Nha Trang, Vietnam | ? | ? | ? |
| Afrykarium at the Wrocław Zoo | Wrocław, Poland | 59 ft (18 m) | ? | ? |
† — Estimated based on top of tunnel being 4 ft (1.2 m) under the surface and 9 ft (2.7 m) to bottom of tunnel.
See also
- Ithaa, an underwater restaurant in the Maldives.
- List of Aquaria
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aquarium tunnels.