Olympic Coast Photograph courtesy of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
	Location From Cape Flattery to the mouth of the Copalis River, on Washington’s outer coast Protected Area 3,310 square miles (8,573 square kilometers) Date Designated July 1994 Habitats • Rocky and sandy shores • Kelp forests • Sea stacks and islands • Pelagic, or open, ocean Key Species • Tufted puffin • Bald eagle • Northern sea otter • Gray whale • Humpback whale • Pacific salmon • Dolphin Cultural Resources • Native American petroglyphs and villages • Historic lighthouses • Shipwrecks

Forbidding cliffs, ancient forests, and the occasional historic lighthouse overlook the wild seascape of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which extends from the Canadian border 135 miles (217 kilometers) south to Washington State’s Copalis River, and from the rugged coastline to approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) offshore. More species of whale, dolphin, and porpoise frequent these cold, fish-laden waters than anywhere else on Earth. Nearly 900 offshore rocks, reefs, and islands dot the sanctuary, providing resting and nesting places to bald eagles, peregrine falcons, tufted puffins, and many other species of bird.

For centuries the ancestors of today’s Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and Quinault tribal members harvested whales, seals, mussels, salmon, and halibut from these fertile waters. Among the tribal remains are rock carvings of the local marine life. Other, more chilling, relics of the past are the many shipwrecks within the sanctuary, a testament to the punishing storms and often-treacherous seas that sweep this remote region.

For more information,
check out NOAA’s Olympic Coast profile:
http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/
omsolympic/omsolympic.html

Address
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
138 West First Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362

Communication
Tel: +1 360 457 6622
Fax: +1 360 457 8496
E-mail: olympiccoast@nms.noaa.gov