Bay Nature stories about the Pacific Ocean.
We hadn’t yet reached the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, but we were far enough outside the Golden Gate that Angel Island looked like an extension of the Marin Headlands, an optical illusion that kept early explorers from … Read more
I go to the beach in January. It reminds me why I'm still in California, what my rent really includes, that I'm alive.
The world’s largest turtle visits the Central California coast every summer.
Viewing a diverse Bay Area ecosystem can be as simple as a trip to the beach.
While living for a while on the Monterey Peninsula, I found myself drawn time and again from the cafes and shops of Pacific Grove down to the waters of Monterey Bay. Sometimes I would just sit on a bench and look for sea otters resting and feeding their pups in the undulating kelp beds. My time in Monterey was a small but privileged window into the wonderful diversity that makes the central coast of California one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world...
When I stand on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and look west, it’s difficult for me to comprehend that we humans can have any impact of consequence on a body of water that is so vast, let alone impacts that are … Read more
I. LEARN MORE A. OUR NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES Encyclopedia of the SanctuariesOnline guide to over 100 marine species from each of the marine sanctuaries in the United States. Includes photos, streaming video, and important biological information for mammals, fish, birds, … Read more
MPAs are designated areas along and off the coast, within the three-mile limit of state waters, intended to protect critical marine habitats. There are three different levels of protection: State Marine Reserves are off limits to all extractive activities, including … Read more
In Schooner Bay, Drakes Bay Oyster Farm grows oysters and clams, producing 85 percent of the shellfish raised in Marin County. Point Reyes National Seashore, the company’s landlord, has long planned to close the farm when its 40-year lease expires … Read more
Weighing in at almost 5,000 pounds, measuring over ten feet across, infested with scores of parasites, carrying more eggs than any other vertebrate, and shaped like a giant dinner plate, the giant ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a creature defined by superlatives.
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
