Channel Islands
National Marine Sanctuary

  1. ONMS
  2. CINMS

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, located off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in California, encompasses 1,470 square miles of water offshore of San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara islands. It is a special place for endangered species, sensitive habitats, historic shipwrecks and cultural resources. Many valuable commercial and recreational activities, such as fishing, shipping, and tourism occur here. For the Indigenous Chumash people, waters of the sanctuary and the northern Channel Islands hold a value that is beyond measure. The sanctuary provides protection through research, education, conservation, and stewardship.

Learn more about Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary at channelislands.noaa.gov.

A graphical map showing the location of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The map shows a grey coastline with Santa Barbara and Los Angeles labeled and indicated by black arrows. A large teal-colored area surrounds several islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, representing the main sanctuary. A smaller teal circle surrounds an additional island located further south.
This graphic map of the Southern California coast highlights the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in teal.

Quick Facts

Location: In California, about 23 miles offshore from Santa Barbara and 13 miles from Ventura

Protected Area: 1,470 square miles

Designation: September 1980

Habitats:

  • Kelp forests
  • Open ocean
  • Rocky reefs
  • Deep sea corals & sponge communities
  • Seagrass meadows
  • Shallow sand bottoms

Key Species:

  • Ashy storm-petrel
  • Blue whale
  • California brown pelican
  • California spiny lobster
  • Giant sea bass
  • Humpback whale
  • Northern elephant seal
  • Pink-footed shearwater
  • Red abalone
  • Scripps's murrelet

Sanctuary Highlight

two people on deck in their dive gear
Read

Channel Islands Divers Support Research on Acoustics, Giant Kelp, and Bioplastics

NOAA divers spent the day at San Miguel Island in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary finishing up the West Coast observations by swapping out the acoustic receivers that are located at 13 sites around the Channel Islands.

Multimedia

Our Planet is an Ocean Planet: Earth Is Blue.

No matter where you are, the ocean and Great Lakes are in your hands. We hope these images and videos from Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary inspire you to help care for our ocean and to spread the word that Earth isn't green—it's blue.

A crew of modern-day Chumash pullers paddle a Tomol (plank canoe) under the milky way and past Anacapa Island's lighthouse and arch rock. Below the waves reveal a kelp forest where California sea lions swim among a garibaldi, leopard shark, white abalone, California spiny lobster, California sheephead, giant sea bass, sea stars, and red and purple urchins.
A California sea lion glides through a dense, sunlit kelp forest in the emerald waters of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
skeleton of a whale on the ocean bottom
tomol paddlers on the ocean at sunrise
Two blue whales swiming near the surface of the water
Diver explores kelp understory in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

National Marine Sanctuary System

national marine Sanctuary system map

Safeguarding America's Premier Marine Places

From Washington state to the Gulf of America and from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Islands, the National Marine Sanctuary System protects 18 underwater parks spanning over 629,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters. By investing in innovative solutions, we strengthen these iconic places to address 21st-century challenges while supporting America's commerce and tourism. These unique locations inspire people to visit, value, and steward our nation’s iconic ocean and Great Lakes waters.