Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas rookery near Cambria, California on California State Route 1

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Elephant Seals have been inhabiting the coast of Highway 1 for years, and they continue to be a famous stop while visitors are in the Cambria area. Friends of the Elephant Seal even have a live cam you can watch to see the beasts lumbering out on the sand (and they usually are). These ocean going mammals spend eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1,000 to 5,000 feet deep for periods of fifteen minutes to two hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to their land based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. The Piedras Blancas rookery, on Highway 1 seven miles north of San Simeon on the California Central Coast, is home to about 17,000 animals. The area is open for viewing every day of the year and there is no admission fee or reservation required.

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Size: 3780px × 2530px
Location: San Simeon, California
Photo credit: © Dimitry Bobroff / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, birthing, blancas, breeding, california, cambria, central, coast, elephant, highway, molting, ocean, pacific, piedras, rookery, san, seals, simeon