A new US$40m (£19.8m, €29.3m) facility called the Aquarium of the Adirondacks will open near Glenn Falls in New York, US.

The new 60,000sq ft (5,574sq m) aquarium aims to merge history, cultural heritage, nature, aquatic biodiversity, green engineering conservation and stewardship into one large visitor attraction within the 6 million acre Adirondack wilderness park in Queensbury.

It will be the only aquarium of its type to feature species of this specific region, in addition to aquatic displays from around the world.

Proposed exhibits will include an Adirondack Mountian Wildlife Experience; Lake George Comes to Life; Predators of the Deep (a shark tank); Journey to the Coral Reef and The Learning Sea: An Interactive Environment.

Founding member Sharon Borgos said: “The vision is to create a facility with education as the cornerstone of the project, which will easily draw 500,000 visitors per year. It will be a tremedous asset.”

The surrounding wilderness park was created in the 19th century to protect the environment and species indigeneous to the area.

The landscape of more than 2,300 lakes and ponds as well as 1,500 miles of rivers and 30,000 miles of brooks is home to around 50 species of animals, 30 of reptiles and amphibians, 66 of fish and 220 species of birds.