The California gray whale swims 10,000 miles each year, the longest migration of any mammal, spending about one third of its life migrating from the cold, nutrient-rich waters of Alaska, to the warm, shallow lagoons of Baja California.
Jutting ten miles into the Pacific Ocean, the headlands of the Point Reyes National Seashore offer one of the finest spots along the California coast to view the gray whale. The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary provides a twenty mile-wide "highway" through which the whales cruise.
Sometimes they swim well off the coast, but often travel close in to shore, where they can easily be viewed from the high bluffs of the headland. The areas around Chimney Rock and the Lighthouse offer some of the best whale watching spots in the park.
The peak of the southern migration usually occurs in mid-January and that of the northern migration in mid-March. Late April and early May afford the opportunity to see mothers and calves close to shore.
What drives the gray whale to undertake this incredible annual round trip from Alaska to Baja? The basics of mammal urges, food and reproduction.
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