The Aquarium of the Pacific (formerly the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific) is a

public aquarium A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept ...

on a site on Rainbow Harbor in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction. The aquarium sees 1.5 million visitors a year and has a total staff of about 1,875 people, including more than 1,500 volunteers and about 375 employees. It is a 501(c)(3)

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

aquarium. The aquarium is an accredited member of the

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums ...

(AZA).

Exhibits

The aquarium features a collection of over 11,000 animals representing over 500 different species in exhibits ranging in size and capacity from about 5,000 to 350,000 gallons. Exhibits introduce the inhabitants and seascapes of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, while also focusing on specific conservation messages associated with each region. The

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

is the focus of three major permanent galleries, sunny

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

and Baja, the frigid waters of the Northern Pacific and the colorful reefs of the Tropical Pacific. Blue Cavern exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Blue Cavern exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Southern California & Baja Gallery

The Southern California & Baja Gallery features the varied habitats of this region. The first exhibit is the three-story Blue Cavern tank, which houses animals that live in the waters surrounding nearby Catalina Island. Next is the Amber Forest exhibit, which replicates a Giant kelp forest with Garibaldi,

California scorpionfish California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and other representative organisms. The

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

exhibit houses

Cortez rainbow wrasse The Cortez rainbow wrasse (''Thalassoma lucasanum'') is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Peru, as well as around the Galapagos Islands. It is a reef inhabitant, occurring in small schools from the s ...

, Mexican lookdowns, porcupine fish, and others. Other areas of the gallery include the Seal and Sea Lion Habitat, Ray Touch Pool, and Shorebird Sanctuary.

Northern Pacific Gallery

The Northern Pacific Gallery focuses on organisms from the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Amer ...

. Exhibits include the Sea Otter Habitat, home to southern sea otters; the giant Pacific octopus tank; and Diving Birds, where

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids ( auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in c ...

s and auklets live. Other species on display include Japanese spider crabs,

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

, and sea anemones.

Tropical Pacific Gallery

The Tropical Pacific Gallery exhibits animals off the coast of the islands of

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Ca ...

and has the aquarium's largest tank, the Tropical Reef Habitat. This tank houses olive ridley sea turtles, zebra sharks, and many other species. Elsewhere in the Gallery are big-belly seahorses, leafy seadragons,

weedy seadragon The common seadragon or weedy seadragon (''Phyllopteryx taeniolatus'') is a marine fish related to the seahorses. Adult common seadragons are a reddish colour, with yellow and purple markings; they have small leaf-like appendages that resemble ...

s, and sea kraits.

Explorer's Cove

Trichoglossus haematodus -Aquarium of the Pacific -three-8b

The aquarium's main outdoor area, Explorer's Cove, encompasses the Shark Lagoon and Lorikeet Forest.

Shark Lagoon

This exhibit area houses over 150 sharks and rays. The main tank houses larger spec rays, blacktip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, zebra sharks, and a sand tiger shark, while the more docile

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

and epaulette sharks live in the three touch pools.

Lorikeet Forest

The Lorikeet Forest walk-through aviary covers and houses five subspecies of rainbow lorikeet as well as the

violet-necked lory The violet-necked lory (''Eos squamata'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the northern Maluku Islands and west Papuan islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland f ...

. Guests may feed them small amounts of nectar for a fee.

June Keyes Penguin Habitat

This exhibit for the Magellanic penguin opened in May 2012. An underwater crawl-in space allows guests to view the penguins from within the tank.

Pacific Visions

In 2018, the aquarium opened a new wing named Pacific Visions, which houses a 266-seat 4D theater with a 30 foot tall, 180 degree wraparound screen. The film is 8 minutes long, and free with aquarium admission. The wing also features new animal exhibits, including a cleaner shrimp touch tank, and several interactive art installations.

Other attractions

In spring 2010, the aquarium opened a new Earth-Friendly Garden on its front lawn. The garden features California native and drought-resistant plants, as well as a very efficient irrigation system, to show part of the solution to Southern California's ongoing water shortage problems.

Activities

The Aquarium of the Pacific's marine science and conservation ventures include: breeding and conservation programs for endangered marine animals and habitats; housing of unreleasable seals, sea lions, and sea otters from local care centers and marine parks; beach and habitat cleanups; a variety of green business practices; and continuing efforts to educate visitors on the importance the ocean, its threats, and conservation, including the hazards of

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. The major ...

, over-harvesting,

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. One example is a

trashion Trashion (a portmanteau of ''trash'' and ''fashion'') is a term for art, jewellery, fashion and objects for the home created from used, thrown-out, found and repurposed elements. The term was first coined in New Zealand in 2004 and gained in usag ...

festival with works by

Marina DeBris Marina DeBris is the name used by an Australian-based artist whose work focuses on reusing trash to raise awareness of ocean and beach pollution. DeBris uses trash washed up from the beach to create trashion, 'fish tanks', decorative art and ot ...

educating about ocean pollution. The Aquarium of the Pacific is also home to many cultural events throughout the year, such as the Pacific Islander Festival in the summer, the Moompetam Festival in the fall, special treats for the animals at Christmas, the Festival of Human Abilities in January, and the African Heritage Festival in February.

Architecture

The aquarium architecture is inspired by the towering, breaking waves of the Pacific and mirrors the fluid and dynamic temper of the ocean. Kajima International, developers of the world's most critically acclaimed and technologically advanced aquariums, was the developer of the Aquarium of the Pacific and architects included the Los Angeles office of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassanbaum and Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis of San Francisco. Construction was a joint venture of Turner Construction Company and Kajima International. On June 20, 1998, construction was completed and the aquarium opened to the public.

Gallery

File:Exquisitur.jpg, Entrance to tropical gallery, designed to replicate a tropical

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

lagoon File:Plasticbystander.jpg,

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...

during training session File:Topofbigtrop.jpg, Top of 350,000 gallon tropical habitat, viewable only during behind the scenes tours

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Aquaria in California Downtown Long Beach Museums in Long Beach, California