Monterey Bay Habitats
Explore the waters of Monterey Bay, where sharks and sturgeon glide through the deep reef, murres plunge from the surface and flatfish nestle in the sandy sea floor. This hourglass-shaped exhibit is over 90 feet long, and highlights five different habitats beneath the bay and the amazing creatures that live there.
Exhibit News
In late June, Monterey Bay Aquarium staff were on a routine collecting trip off of San Francisco. It hadn’t been a particularly successful day, but that was about to change. “We were just about to pack it up and head back to the harbor,” said Senior Aquarist Kevin Lewand. But just then, Senior Collector Joe Welsh brought in a 7-foot, 5-inch, 113-pound male sevengill shark. It’s now thriving and on display in the Monterey Bay Habitats exhibit.
Did You Know?
- This exhibit was designed with sharks in mind—the hourglass shape gives our large sharks plenty of room to glide and turn. Gliding helps sharks get rid of metabolic wastes in muscle tissue.
- Those aren’t penguins you see paddling by—they’re common murres. They were rescued after an oil spill along the coast.
- This exhibit holds 350,000 gallons of water and the acrylic windows are three to four inches thick.
Don’t Miss
Be sure to look for these cool creatures in the exhibit.
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