Marine Sanctuaries Select the map image for a much larger map. This section, Marine Sanctuaries, provides summary descriptions of each marine sanctuary.
Most marine sanctuaries maintain their own Web sites.
Links to these sites are found on the introductory pages. These descriptions are being developed in conjunction with the Sustainable Seas Expeditions . Channel Islands , Cordell Bank , Gulf of the Farallones , Monterey Bay , Olympic Coast , Stellwagen Bank , Gray's Reef , Florida Keys , Flower Garden Banks , and Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale . In 1972, exactly one hundred years after the first national park was created, the nation made a similar commitment to preserving its marine treasures by establishing the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Since then, twelve national marine sanctuaries, representing a wide variety of ocean environments, have been designated.