Chapter 13 - The Empty Interior

The Empty Interior is known for having a lot of land and a good portion of that land is used for the national park system. Like the Empty Interior, Monterey Bay also has national parks.

One of the national parks is the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). According to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary website,  it was established in 1992. It was established to protect  resources, to conduct research, and for education.  It has 6,094 square miles of ocean. It would be a neat place to visit since it has one of the world's most diverse marine life! 

Another national park in Monterey Bay is the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. According to ElkhornSlough.org it has biological diversity and provides a habitat for many aquatic birds, marine invertebrate, and fish. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decided to have certain areas of the Elkhorn Slough be part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to protect rare and endangered species that live in those areas. 

Monterey Bay is a neat place because they have such diverse marine life. I think that it is good that they protect the diverse areas so that the marine life are able to live without having their environment damaged by pollution and other things that can harm their environment.    



Elkhorn Slough