Travel and Holidays -> The Biggest and the Most Beautiful Aquariums in the World -> Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) was founded in 1984. It is located on the territory of the former sardine cannery on Cannery Row from the coastline of the Pacific in Monterey, California. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million visitors.

Description

It contains thousands of plants and animals, representing 623 species of ocean creatures. Aquarium’s advantage is the high circulation of fresh water in the ocean, which is obtained through the pipes which pump it continuously from the Monterey Bay. Among the numerous exhibits of the aquarium, there are two of particular importance: the central wing, which is 10 meters (33 feet) tall, 1.3 million liters (1 / 3 million gallons) tank for viewing California coastal marine life. The second is a 4.5 million liters (1.2 million gallon) tank in the open sea Gallery (formerly Outer Bay), which includes one of the largest single-glazed windows in the world (created by a Japanese company) The aquarium sea life includes stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters, and many other local species creatures, which can be seen above and below the waterline. Monterey Bay Aquarium is also one of only two aquariums in the world where you can see blue tuna.

History

Aquarium occupies the territory of the former Cannery Row. This building was dismantled in 1980.The original building was designed by the aquarium architectural firm, Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis and opened on 20 October 1984. The mission of the aquarium was "to inspire the protection of the oceans." Initial financial support for the construction of the aquarium, was provided by, David Packard, the cofounder of Hewlett-Packard. Aquarium was built in honor of Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist who specialized in describing communities of organisms Basic design The aquarium has a fantastic design. The basic design of pumps gives the possibility to pump 2000 liters of ocean water per minute from the Monterey Bay(day and night). This is done to 100 tanks that are exhibited. During the day the water is filtered for a viewing clarity. During the night, the unfiltered seawater is pumped. Thus the ocean creatures get the food in the form of plankton. Monterey Bay Aquarium was originally a personal gift from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. They really believed that the aquarium would be a self-supporting organization after its construction. Unfortunately, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and other foundations and individuals support some programs of the aquarium. MBA has about 420 employees and 1270 volunteers to work there. This is a place that puzzles those that are fond of the sea creatures

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