Photo Gallery

Shaped like shallow bowls, anemones look more like flowers than animals.

Aggregating anemone

Sea urchins are spheres, up to fist-sized, of richly purple and red spines.

Purple and red sea urchins

A classic “starfish” shape, this sea star has five arms, each ending in a point.

Sea star nestled into seaweed

Star covered with a loose net pattern of light bumps explores with its feet.

Sea star explores with tube feet

Brown seaweeds provide a rich carpet of various textures and shades of brown.

Brown seaweeds

Branching and leafy red seaweeds grow attached to the base of a kelp.

Red seaweeds

Slightly worn down over time, the top of this snail reveals a bright blue shell.

Blue top snail

About as wide as your thumb, only flat, the “stems” of rockweed are forked.

Little rockweed

Sea gull flying over the ocean with its wings spread out widely.

Western gull

Sea urchins are spheres, up to fist-sized, of richly purple spines.

Purple sea urchins

Dozens of off-white plates form two halves around the bulk of a gooseneck barnacle.

Leaf or "gooseneck" barnacle

Anemone nested in a sandy pool, with bright white tips on its exterior tentacles.

Anemone

Slender legs and delicate antennae peek out from beneath this hermit's shell.

Hermit crab

Pigeon guillemots, a blue and white seabird rest on a rocky cliff.

Pigeon guillemots

A California sea lion, a marine mammal, suns itself while resting on a dock.

California sea lion

Shaped like shallow bowls-anemones may look more like flowers than like animals.

Giant green anemone

Opalescent nudibranch

Small white and reddish striped juvenile crab on surfgrass

Juvenile crab on surfgrass

Green colored seaweed with lighter green and reddish bumps

Reproductive seaweed

White-lined dorid