Salinas River (California)

Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge is located approximately 11 miles north of Monterey, California, and 3 miles south of Castroville, California, at the point where the Salinas River empties into Monterey Bay. The 367-acre (1.49 km2) refuge encompasses several habitat types including sand dunes, pickleweed salt marsh, river lagoon, riverine habitat, and a saline pond. The refuge was established in 1974 because of its "particular value in carrying out the national migratory bird management program."The area provides habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including the California brown pelican, Smith's blue butterfly, the western snowy plover, the Monterey sand gilia, and the Monterey spineflower. The refuge is used by a variety of migratory birds during breeding, wintering, and migrating periods. Refuge mammals include muskrat, golden beaver, gray fox, red fox, striped skunk, longtail weasel, Virginia opossum, vagrant shrew, broad-footed mole, brush rabbit, raccoon, duskyfooted woodrat, deer mouse, and coyote.Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge is open to the public though there are no facilities beyond a parking lot and footpaths. Dogs, horseback riding, and camping are not permitted due to the sensitivity of the habitat.

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.

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.

Monterey Canyon, or Monterey Submarine Canyon, is a submarine canyon in Monterey Bay, California with steep canyon walls measuring a full 1 mile (1.6 km) in height from bottom to top, which height/depth rivals the depth of the Grand Canyon itself. It is the largest such submarine canyon along the West coast of the North American continent, and was formed by the underwater erosion process known as turbidity current erosion. Many questions remain unresolved regarding the exact nature of its origins, and as such it is the subject of several ongoing geological and marine life studies being carried out by scientists stationed at the nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and other oceanographic institutions. Monterey Canyon begins at Moss Landing, California, which is situated along the middle of the coast of Monterey Bay, and extends horizontally 95 mi (153 km) under the Pacific Ocean where it terminates at the Monterey Canyon submarine fan, reaching depths of up to 3,600 m (11,800 ft) below surface level at its downstream mouth. It is a part of the greater Monterey Bay Canyon System, which consists of Monterey, Soquel and Carmel Canyons. The canyon's depth and nutrient availability (due to the regular influx of nutrient-rich sediment) provide a habitat suitable for many marine life forms. The Soquel Canyon State Marine Conservation Area protects a side-branch of the Monterey Submarine Canyon. Like an underwater park, this marine protected area helps conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

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

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.

Giant Artichoke, also known as the World's Largest Artichoke, is a large sculpture of an artichoke in Castroville, California, commonly referred to as the "Artichoke Capital of the World". It is located adjacent to the New American cuisine-serving restaurant of the same name. It is made from concrete and rebar.

The Castroville Japanese Language School, also known as the Castroville Nihon Gakko, is a historic building located at 11199 Geil St. in Castroville, California that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

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.

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 Moss Landing Power Plant is a natural gas powered electricity generation plant located in Moss Landing, California, United States, at the midpoint of Monterey Bay. Its large stacks are landmarks, visible throughout the Monterey Bay Area. The plant is owned and operated by Houston-based Dynegy and currently has a generation capacity of 1020 MW (net) from its two combined cycle generation units. It was once the largest power plant in the state of California, with a generation capacity of 2560 MW, before its two large supercritical steam units were retired in 2016. It is the site of a new battery storage power station for grid battery storage of over 567 MW / 2,270 MWh of power, potentially the world's largest when completed. A fire occurred on site in 2022 during construction, and PG&E and Tesla took corrective actions. The project still moved forward and Phase III was completed and went into operation in June of 2023.