The National Marine Sanctuary System
Explore America's marine sanctuaries
From Stellwagen Bank off Massachusetts to American Samoa and the Great Lakes to the Florida Keys, these sites protect 629,000 square miles of public waters.
The Sanctuary System
Discover sanctuaries by location
Click any sanctuary on the map to learn more. Sites span the continental coasts, the Great Lakes, and the Pacific.
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Pacific sites
Full travel guide
Overview available
21 sites across 5 regions
All sanctuaries
21 sites in alphabetical order · 4 with full travel guides
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American Samoa
Designated April 29, 1986 · 13,581 mi² -
Channel Islands
Designated September 22, 1980 · 1,470 mi2 -
Chumash Heritage
· 4,543 mi² -
Cordell Bank
Designated May 24, 1989 · 1,286 mi² - Travel guide
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Designated November 16, 1990 · 4,539 mi² -
Flower Garden Banks
Designated January 17, 1992 · 160 mi² -
Gray’s Reef
Designated January 16, 1981 · 22 mi² -
Greater Farallones
Designated January 16, 1981 · 3,295 mi² - Travel guide
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS
Designated November 4, 1992 -
Hudson Canyon
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Lake Erie
· 740 square miles -
Lake Ontario
Designated June 5, 2024 · 1,722 mi² -
Mallows Bay-Potomac River
Designated September 3, 2019 · 18 mi2 -
Monitor
Designated January 30, 1975 · 83 mi² - Travel guide
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Designated September 18, 1992 · 6,094 mi² -
Olympic Coast
Designated July 22, 1994 · 3,189 mi² -
Pacific Remote Islands
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Papahānaumokuākea
· 582,570 mi² -
Rose Atoll
Designated January 6, 2009 · 13,581 mi² - Travel guide
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Designated September 25, 2000 · 4,300 square miles -
Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast
Designated June 22, 2021 · 962 mi2