About the Estuary

An estuary is a place where fresh water from creeks and rivers mixes with salty ocean water. Estuaries are among the richest habitats known. The confluence of creeks, wetlands, salt marshes, mudflats, sand dunes and open water attracts a tremendous variety of wildlife. Morro Bay, a small estuary of 2300 acres, is fed by Chorro and Los Osos Creeks and is protected from the Pacific Ocean by a lengthy sand spit.

A Fish Nursery
The estuary is a nursery for many species of fish that live as adults in the ocean. The shallow water, eelgrass beds and wetlands provide protected habitat and rich food sources for larvae and fry. Chorro and Los Osos Creeks also host steelhead trout, a threatened species that spawns in creeks but migrates to the sea.

A Living Fossil
Lagoons and wetlands were once common along the southern California coast, but almost all were filled and developed before their ecological importance was understood. Morro Bay has largely survived - a rare example of a bygone environment. However, the estuary is struggling today with the impacts of human activities. We need to work together to protect and restore this special place.

Spectacular Bird Habitat
Morro Bay is an important stop-over on the Pacific Flyway and a critical winter home to numerous bird species. The bay and its 48,000 acre watershed rank perennially among the top sites in the nation during the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.