Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay is a very famous location in California found off the coast of Monterey and Monterey Peninsula. The bay is formed by California's coast as a precursor to the Pacific Ocean. It is to the south of San Francisco, between Santa Cruz and Monterey.

The bay was first used in 1542, when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered this area of California during a Spanish naval expedition. He named the bay Bahia de los Pinos, most likely because of the pine trees he encountered on the land near the southern tip. It was renamed a few times before Conde de Monterrey, a viceroy of New Spain, was honored.

Geologically the bay was formed by Monterey Canyon, a large underwater canyon that begins with Moss Landing and centers in Monterey Bay. It is another place in California with a lot of biodiversity. The bay is known for sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, harbor seals, gray and humpback whales. They also have colonies of elephant seals. Sharks, squid, mollusks, abalone, sea turtles, and sea birds frequent the bay too. There are a number of species of kelp that grow in the bay, forming kelp forests that the marine life use to hide and live in.