Monterey Bay
{{Short description|Large salt water bay in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
File:Monterey Bay Map (smaller).png
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via CA 1 and US 101.
Santa Cruz is located at the north end of the bay, and Monterey is on the Monterey Peninsula at the south end. The "Monterey Bay Area" is a regional term used to describe the Monterey Bay-adjacent Central Coast communities of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San 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.
Toponymy
File:GaspardeZugnigayAcevedo (cropped).jpg, namesake of Monterey Bay.]]
The first European to enter Monterey Bay was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on November 16, 1542, while sailing northward along the coast on an imperial Spanish naval expedition. He named the bay Bahía de los Pinos,{{cite book | last = Gudde | first = Erwin G. | title = California Place Names | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1949 | location = Berkeley, Calif. | page = 222 | asin = B000FMOPP4 }} probably because of the forest of pine trees first encountered while rounding the peninsula at the southern end of the bay.{{cite book | last = Clark | first = Donald T. | title = Monterey County Place Names | publisher = Kestrel Press | year = 1991 | location = Carmel Valley, Calif. | page = 322 | isbn = 978-1-880478-00-4}} Cabrillo's name for the bay was lost, but the westernmost point of the peninsula is still known as Point Pinos.
On December 10, 1595, Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño crossed the bay and bestowed the name Bahía de San Pedro in honor of Saint Peter Martyr.{{cite book | last = Wagner | first = Henry R. | title = Cartography of the Northwest Coast of America to the Year 1800 | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1937 | location = Berkeley, Calif. | page = 398 | asin = B001K5A42S }}
The present name for the bay was given in 1602 by Sebastián 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 named Puerto de Monterrey in honor of Don Gaspár de Zúñiga y Acevedo, 5th Count of Monterrey, who was the governor of New Spain and had dispatched the expedition.{{cite web |title=Dr. Hart's Mansion - Pacific Grove, California |url=http://hartmansion.com/puntadelospinos.html |website=hartmansion.com |access-date=6 January 2021}} Monterrey is the Castilian spelling of Monterrei, a municipality in the Galicia region of Spain from which the viceroy and his father (the Fourth Count of Monterrei) originated.
File:Cormorant Condo in Monterey, CA.jpg "condo" in Monterey Bay]]
All other place names in the vicinity containing Monterey were so named because of their proximity to the bay. This includes the Presidio of Monterey, City of Monterey, County of Monterey and Monterey Canyon.
Geology
{{Main|Monterey Canyon}}
The Monterey Canyon, one of the largest underwater canyons in the world, begins off the coast of Moss Landing, in the center of Monterey Bay. It is {{Convert|249|mi|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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mbari.org/science/seafloor-processes/geological-changes/mapping-sections/|title=Monterey Canyon: Stunning deep-sea topography revealed {{!}} MBARI|website=www.mbari.org|date=22 February 2016|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-10}}
Flora and fauna
Monterey Bay is home to many species of marine mammals, including sea otters, harbor seals, and bottlenose dolphins; as well as being on the migratory path of gray and humpback whales and a breeding site for elephant seals. Killer whales are typically found along the coast,{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killer-whales-spotted-hunting-sea-lions-california-coast/|title='Rarely seen' killer whales spotted hunting sea lions off California coast|website=CBS News|publisher=CBS Interactive Inc|first1=Kerry|last1=Breen|access-date=25 August 2024|date=14 December 2023|quote=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.}} especially when gray whales migrate, as they hunt the whales during their migration north. Many species of fish, sharks, mollusks such as abalone and squid, birds, and sea turtles also live in the bay. Several varieties of kelp grow in the bay, some becoming as tall as trees, forming what is known as a kelp forest.
Marine protected areas
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 and Asilomar State Marine Reserve are marine protected areas in Monterey Bay. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Communities around Monterey Bay
File:Monterey Bay STS090-705-5.jpg in the north to the Monterey Peninsula in the south]]
Clockwise around the bay, generally from north to south. Inland communities are indented:
- Santa Cruz
- Live Oak
- Capitola
- Soquel
- Aptos
- Rio del Mar
- La Selva Beach
- Corralitos
- Freedom
- Watsonville
- Pajaro
- Las Lomas
- Elkhorn
- Moss Landing
- Castroville
- Salinas
- Marina
- Seaside
- Fort Ord
- Sand City
- Del Rey Oaks
- Monterey
- New Monterey
- Pacific Grove
- Carmel
- Carmel Valley
- Carmel Highlands
{{Wide image|MontereyBayPanoramaFromJacksPeak.jpg|1500px|Panorama of Monterey Bay from Jacks Peak Park}}
In popular culture
Apple's desktop operating system, macOS Monterey, is named after this region.
Gallery
Image:Old cannery on Monterey Bay.JPG|Monterey Bay seen with the old Cannery Foundations
Image:Beach Monterey.JPG|One of many beaches along the Monterey Bay coastline
Image:Montereybay.jpg|Monterey Bay as seen from Soquel, California. The Moss Landing power plant is visible in the distance.
Image:SCUBA diving lessons.JPG|Scuba diving lessons in the bay, near Monterey, California
File:Bierstadt Albert Bay of Monterey.jpg|Albert Bierstadt, Bay of Monterey, oil on paper, undated
File:Aerial view - Santa Cruz CA.jpg|Aerial view of the north end of Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz
See also
{{Portal|Monterey Bay Area}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last1=Palumbi |first1=Stephen R. |last2=Sotka |first2=Carolyn |date=November 12, 2010 |title=The Death and Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1610911900 }}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Monterey Bay}}
- [http://montereybaycam.com Live Monterey Bay Web Cam]
- [http://montereybay.noaa.gov Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary website]
{{Monterey Bay Area}}
{{Authority control}}{{Coord|36|48|N|121|54|W|source:GNIS_scale:500000_type:waterbody_region:US-CA|display=title}}
Category:Bays of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Bodies of water of Monterey County, California
Category:Bodies of water of Santa Cruz County, California
Category:Regions of California
Category:Geography of Northern California
Category:Geography of Monterey County, California
Category:Geography of San Benito County, California
Category:Geography of Santa Cruz County, California