Have you seen any heart-shaped puffs of mist from the ocean offshore California lately? If so you were likely close to a gray whale. Gray whales arguably hold the record...
It is winter, so King Tides are here again. “King Tide” has become a popular term recently to explain an especially high tide. King Tide is not a scientifically meaningfu...
If you happened to be looking out across Monterey Bay over Labor Day weekend you might have noticed that the coastline looked weirdly distorted. It was as if someone had...
Gazing over the waters of Monterey Bay this week, you would be forgiven if you thought you were in the tropics. A bloom of tiny phytoplankton called coccolithophores has...
Surf scoters are named for their propensity to forage in ocean surf and dive through the foam of breaking waves. A flock of surf scoters will often dive in unison to conf...
California’s Santa Cruz Wharf is a common resting place of the oft-noisy sea lion (Zalophus californianus). You may also see harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) but they...
In May marine mammals are reproducing and/or still migrating. Some have already given birth but are still heading north towards summer feeding grounds. May is typically a...
The complex balance of humans and nature on the San Lorenzo River is prominently seen in the ongoing conversation about how to manage the river lagoon. Protection of enda...
Depending on when you visit the river mouth, the river may or may not be flowing out to the bay. The interplay between sand moved by ocean currents and the river creates...
Wilder Ranch has just about everything to provide the quintessential California coast experience. It is a large (7,000-acre) park with trails for hikers, bikers, and hors...
