All along the Pacific Coast of North America, giant stands of kelp up to 100 feet high, like this one in California"s Channel Islands, provide habitat for a vast number of fish, invertebrates, and sea mammals. Giant kelp, technically a type of brown algae, is the largest of all seaweed and one of the fastest-growing of any organism—as much as 2 feet per day! The gas-filled pods you see in this image help the kelp float. Like the trees in the Amazon, the kelp forests of our oceans are key to the health of marine life.
Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Christmas Eve
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Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California
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The Alhambra in Granada, Spain
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Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
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Meet our fuzzy Earth Day mascot
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Colorful cows of the reef
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Till the cows come home
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Vietnam’s new bridge deserves a big hand
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Jöriseen lakes in the Silvretta Alps, Switzerland
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White trilliums blooming in Ontario, Canada
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20 years later
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Fly me to the moon
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Reflecting on one of the world s strangest rivers
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Holi festival
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Victory Day in Valletta
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The view will stop you in your tracks
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Who s wearing such cute hats?
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Turning darkness into light
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Surströmming Day
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Welcome to my neck of the woods
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A stunning sight in Mexico s wilderness
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Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
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A whale of a picture
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Yosemite National Park, California
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Zion National Park turns 103
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Happy Halloween!
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A universe underground
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Reflections of the night sky
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A bird of beauty
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Bohemian waxwings in Canada