Exotic fluids bubble up from cold seeps in the sanctuary's seafloor.
This varied geology attracts a diverse population of marine life to the sanctuary's coastline and waters. Along the rocky intertidal zone, mussels and ocher starfish cling tenaciously to the reef, while, in early winter, male elephant seals loll about on sandy beaches with their harems. Farther out, the dense kelp canopy shelters abalone, sea urchins, rockfish, and sea otters. In the open ocean bioluminescent organisms fitfully brighten the watery depths with their otherworldly sparkle and glow. During the year a cavalcade of species passes through the Monterey Bay sanctuary on its way to other destinations.