Moss Landing Power Plant

Moro Cojo Estuary State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a marine protected area established to protect the wildlife and habitats in Moro Cojo Slough. Moro Cojo Slough is located inland from Monterey Bay on the central coast of California, directly south of the more widely known Elkhorn Slough. The area covers 0.46 square miles (1.2 km2). The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited.

Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 10 feet (3.048 m). It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough and at the head of the submarine Monterey Canyon.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Christopher Scholin serves as the institute's president and chief executive officer, managing a work force of approximately 220 scientists, engineers, and operations and administrative staff. At MBARI, scientists and engineers work together to develop new tools and methods for studying the ocean. Long-term funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation allows the institute to take on studies that traditional granting institutions may be reluctant to sponsor. Part of David Packard's charge for MBARI was to "Take risks. Ask big questions. Don't be afraid to make mistakes; if you don't make mistakes, you're not reaching far enough." MBARI's campus in Moss Landing is located near the center of Monterey Bay, at the head of the Monterey Canyon. Monterey Bay is one of the most biologically diverse bodies of waters in the world, and the underlying submarine canyon is one of the deepest underwater canyons along the continental United States. With this 4,000-meter-deep submarine canyon only a few ship-hours from their base of operations, institute scientists enjoy an advantageous proximity to this natural, deep-sea "laboratory." MBARI is not open to the general public, but it has an open house once a year. Although MBARI is a sister institution to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the two organizations have entirely separate management and funding.

Moss Landing Wildlife Area is a California State wildlife preserve on the shore of Elkhorn Slough.

The Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) is a multi-campus marine research consortium of the California State University System, headquartered at Moss Landing, California.

Moss Landing State Beach is a state park on Monterey Bay, in Monterey County, California.

Elkhorn Slough is a 7-mile-long (11 km) tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Monterey County, California. It is California's second largest estuary and the United States' first estuarine sanctuary. The community of Moss Landing and the Moss Landing Power Plant are located at the mouth of the slough on the bay. Elkhorn Slough harbors the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside the San Francisco Bay and provides much-needed habitat for hundreds of species of plants and animals, including more than 340 species of birds. It has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2018.

Salinas River State Beach is a beach at the river mouth of the Salinas River at Monterey Bay, in Monterey County, California. It is located at the south end of Moss Landing, California. The park can be accessed from the Potrero exit off of Highway 1, in Moss Landing. It is part of the 99 miles of Monterey County coastline.

Zmudowski State Beach is located on Monterey Bay, in Moss Landing, Monterey County, northern California.It is operated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Coastal erosion has greatly affected Zmudowski State Beach, along with other beaches in California. It has also been impacted by an influx of marine debris, causing changes in its wildlife populations.

Castroville is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 7,515, up from 6,481 in 2010. Castroville is known for its artichoke crop and for the annual Castroville Artichoke Festival, leading to its nickname as the "Artichoke Center of the World". The community's origins lie in Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo, a Mexican-era rancho granted to the Castro family of Californio rancheros. Following the American Conquest of California, Juan Bautista Castro founded Castroville in 1863.

Elkhorn is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States.Elkhorn was originally a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad 4 miles (6 km) north of Castroville, at an elevation of 10 feet (3.0 m). The settled part of the community now occupies the hills to the east of the railroad. The population of the Elkhorn CDP was 1,588 at the 2020 census. Local understandings of the extent of Elkhorn may vary from the Census definition. Elkhorn was named after the elk in the area that have since gone extinct.

Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo (or Pocket of the Pasture and the Lame Moor and La Sagrada Familia or The Holy Family) was a 6,916-acre (27.99 km2) Mexican land grant in the northern Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California. Tradition holds that Lame Moor refers to a lame, black (moor) horse found in the property.It was given in 1822 by Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá to Joaquín de la Torre. The grant was bounded on the north by Tembladero Slough and in the south by present-day Castroville.