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
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Cheese! We ll go somewhere where there s cheese!
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Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
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Welcome to Scotland s garden
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Freshwater plants in Aquário Natural, Brazil
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Greetings from Asbury Park
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St. Paul Winter Carnival
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World Bamboo Day
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Celebrating the Day of the Dead
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Humpback whales in Maui, Hawaii
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Sundance Film Festival opens in Park City
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When in Rome...celebrate Saturnalia
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Kawachi Fuji Garden
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Gentoo penguins in Antarctica
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Breaking the fast for Eid
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A winter’s holiday ends
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International Day of Friendship
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A winter light show
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Venice Skatepark, Los Angeles, California
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International Day of Human Space Flight
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This reef is nowhere near the sea…
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Village of Labro, Italy
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Azaleas blooming on Hwangmaesan Mountain, South Korea
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Arches National Park, Utah
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World Population Day
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New York City Marathon
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Through an artist s eyes
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Lizard of mystery
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Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
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May the Fourth be with you…
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Global commerce in motion