From Washington to you
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary · Jefferson County · designated July 22, 1994
NOAA designated 3,188 square miles of ocean off the Olympic Peninsula on July 22, 1994, from the beaches out across the continental shelf.
NOAA designated Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary on July 22, 1994. The sanctuary covers 3,188 square miles of marine waters off the Olympic Peninsula. It extends about 25 to 45 miles seaward, covering much of the continental shelf and several major submarine canyons.
NOAA says the sanctuary protects a productive upwelling zone, kelp and intertidal communities, and deep-sea coral and sponge habitats. The contemporary cultures of the Hoh Tribe, Makah Tribe, Quileute Tribe, and Quinault Indian Nation have forged inseparable ties to the ocean environment.
The sanctuary is the offshore counterpart to Olympic National Park's coast. The source below is NOAA's official sanctuary about page.
- Geography & Geology
- Wildlife & Ecology
Sources (1)
government · Tier S
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationAbout the Sanctuary
Last reviewed: September 20, 2026
Keep wandering
nearby
Hoh Rain ForestPacific storms drop 12 to 14 feet of rain a year on one of the last primeval temperate rain forests in the lower 48.
same landscape
Olympic Coast Sea OttersWashington's sea otters were gone by the early 1900s. FWS says 59 animals from Amchitka Island were released on the Olympic Coast in 1969 and 1970.
nearby
Olympic National Park, 1938Franklin Roosevelt signed the park into law on June 29, 1938, after a 1937 visit, on ground first reserved in 1897 and later set aside for Roosevelt elk.
nearby
Rialto BeachDrift logs, seastacks, and a 1.5-mile walk to Hole-in-the-Wall define this Olympic wilderness beach 75 miles from Port Angeles.