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Map of expanded Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Any marine creature that wants a bit of privacy would be well advised to avoid Cordell Bank, a submerged mound off the coast of northern California. Life is so abundant that, in places, corals, sponges, crabs, sea stars, and other organisms pile atop each other two or three deep, covering every square foot of sea floor. Fish fill the water above them, with whales and other mammals passing through as well.
In fact, Cordell Bank is one of the busiest marine habitats in the world. And it recently received some extra protection.
The bank was already part of a national marine sanctuary, which is designed to manage resources for the good of both people and marine organisms. In June of 2015, the area covered by the sanctuary more than doubled. So did a larger sanctuary that connects to it. The two now cover about 4,500 square miles of Pacific Ocean extending north and west from San Francisco.
Cordell Bank is about 25 miles off the coast. It’s a mound of rock, sand, and mud that rises to within about a hundred feet of the surface. It covers a couple of dozen square miles.
The bank is in the middle of the California Current, which brings nutrients from deeper waters. The nutrients feed an explosion of life. The area is home to almost 200 species of fish, 70 species of seabirds, and many species of marine mammals — some of which are endangered. The expanded sanctuaries should provide some extra protection for those threatened creatures — and all the others in this busy bit of ocean property.
