The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

 (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce

United States Department of Commerce

The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...

. It is located along the Olympic Peninsula

Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...

 of Washington state. The sanctuary was declared in 1994 and encompasses 3189 square miles (8,259.5 km²) of the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 from Cape Flattery in the north, to the mouth of the Copalis River, a distance of about 162.5 miles (261.5 km). Extending 25 to 40 mi (40.2 to 64.4 ) from the shore, it includes most of the continental shelf, as well as parts of three important submarine canyons, the Nitinat Canyon, the Quinault Canyon and the Juan de Fuca Canyon. For 64 miles (103 km) along the coast, the sanctuary shares stewardship with the Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...

. The sanctuary overlays the Flattery Rocks

Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge

Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is the northernmost of the three refuges which make up the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a group of 870 islands, rocks, and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's coast from Cape Flattery to Copalis Beach...

, Quillayute Needles

Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge

Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge is the central refuge of the three which make up the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a group of 870 islands, rocks, and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's coast from Cape Flattery to Copalis Beach...

, and Copalis Rock National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

s.

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