Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

United States

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a federally protected marine area along California's central coast and one of the largest national marine sanctuaries in the United States, popular with scuba divers for its kelp forests.

The sanctuary stretches along California's Big Sur and central coast, covering about 6,094 square miles with a shoreline of 276 miles. It reaches its deepest point at 12,743 feet within the Monterey Submarine Canyon. Public recreational activities including scuba diving are permitted within its boundaries alongside commercial fishing, with kelp forests forming part of the coastal ecosystem.