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Monterey Bay is a bay of thePacific Ocean located on the coast of theU.S. state ofCalifornia, south of theSan Francisco Bay Area.San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible viaCA 1 andUS 101.
Santa Cruz is located at the north end of the bay, andMonterey is on theMonterey Peninsula at the south end. The "Monterey Bay Area" is a regional term used to describe the Monterey Bay-adjacentCentral Coast communities ofSanta Cruz,Monterey, andSan Benito counties. The three counties, along with Monterey Bay-adjacent cities, collaborate in the Association of Monterey Bay Governments (AMBAG) on regional issues and come together for events like the State of the Region hosted by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership.
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The firstEuropean to enter Monterey Bay wasJuan Rodríguez Cabrillo on November 16, 1542, while sailing northward along the coast on an imperial Spanish naval expedition. He named the bayBahía de los Pinos,[1] probably because of the forest ofpine trees first encountered while rounding thepeninsula at the southern end of the bay.[2] Cabrillo's name for the bay was lost, but the westernmost point of the peninsula is still known asPoint Pinos.
On December 10, 1595,Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño crossed the bay and bestowed the nameBahía de San Pedro in honor ofSaint Peter Martyr.[2][3]
The present name for the bay was given in 1602 bySebastián Vizcaíno, who had been tasked by the Spanish government to complete a detailed chart of the coast. On December 16, 1602 he rounded a large peninsula and entered a bay that he namedPuerto de Monterrey in honor ofDon Gaspár de Zúñiga y Acevedo, 5th Count of Monterrey, who was the governor ofNew Spain and had dispatched the expedition.[1][4] Monterrey is theCastilian spelling ofMonterrei, a municipality in theGalicia region ofSpain from which the viceroy and his father (the Fourth Count of Monterrei) originated.
All other place names in the vicinity containingMonterey were so named because of their proximity to the bay. This includes thePresidio of Monterey,City of Monterey,County of Monterey andMonterey Canyon.
TheMonterey Canyon, one of the largest underwater canyons in the world, begins off the coast ofMoss Landing, in the center of Monterey Bay. It is 249 miles (401 km) long, although its shape changes regularly because of currents and sediment being left in the area. The canyon is much like that of a continental slope; the biology of the canyon changes significantly in different parts of the canyon.[5]
Monterey Bay is home to many species ofmarine mammals, includingsea otters,harbor seals, andbottlenose dolphins; as well as being on the migratory path ofgray andhumpback whales and a breeding site forelephant seals.Killer whales are typically found along the coast,[6] especially when gray whales migrate, as they hunt the whales during their migration north. Many species offish,sharks,mollusks such asabalone andsquid, birds, and sea turtles also live in the bay. Several varieties ofkelp grow in the bay, some becoming as tall as trees, forming what is known as akelp forest.
Soquel Canyon State Marine Conservation Area,Portuguese Ledge State Marine Conservation Area,Pacific Grove Marine Gardens State Marine Conservation Area,Lovers Point State Marine Reserve,Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area andAsilomar State Marine Reserve aremarine protected areas in Monterey Bay. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Clockwise around the bay, generally from north to south. Inland communities are indented:
Apple's desktop operating system,macOS Monterey, is named after this region.
Orcas that are 'rarely seen' were caught on camera hunting sea lions off the California coast this week, the Monterey Bay Whale Watch said on Wednesday.
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