奥林匹克海岸国家海洋保护区的海岸线，美国华盛顿州 The shoreline of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington state (© Chris Moore/Tandem Stills + Motion)

奥林匹克海岸国家海洋保护区的海岸线，美国华盛顿州 The shoreline of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington state (© Chris Moore/Tandem Stills + Motion)

A wild, craggy corner of the United States

The sun is setting here on the west coast of Washington state's rugged Olympic Peninsula, where more than 3,000 square miles of marine waters are protected as part of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Wondering where exactly we are? Look at a map of the United States and draw your finger up the west coast until it ends where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean. Those final 135 miles of shoreline form the landward boundary of the sanctuary, which also extends seaward 25 to 50 miles.

This area attracts more than 3 million visitors a year. Many come to catch glimpses of the 29 species of marine mammals that reside in or migrate through this area, like humpback, gray, and orca whales, plus seals, sea lions, and sea otters. Salmon and halibut thrive here, as do any number of seabirds that make their nests in the craggy rock walls, seagrass, and treetops. At low tide, visitors explore tidepools teeming with life. This sanctuary is more than ecological resource, it's also home to vibrant Native American tribes. The Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and Quinault have been here for centuries, long before the first English sea captains spotted the coast and gave it its current name.

美国的一个荒凉、崎岖的角落

太阳落在华盛顿州崎岖不平的奥林匹克半岛西海岸，这里有3000多平方英里的海洋水域作为奥林匹克海岸国家海洋保护区的一部分受到保护。想知道我们到底在哪里？看一张美国地图，把手指指向西海岸，直到胡安·德富卡海峡与太平洋交汇处为止。最后135英里的海岸线形成了保护区的陆地边界，也向海延伸了25到50英里。

这个地区每年吸引300多万游客。许多人来这里是为了瞥见居住在该地区或迁徙经过该地区的29种海洋哺乳动物，如座头鲸、灰鲸和虎鲸，以及海豹、海狮和海獭。鲑鱼和大比目鱼在这里繁衍生息，许多海鸟也在峭壁、海草和树梢筑巢。在退潮时，游客们探索充满生命的潮滩。这个保护区不仅仅是生态资源，它还是充满活力的美洲土著部落的家园。早在第一批英国船长发现海岸并给它起了现在的名字之前，Makah、Quileute、Hoh和Quinault就已经在这里生活了几个世纪。