Oregon Coast Aquarium
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is an aquarium
in Newport
in the U.S. state
of Oregon
. Opened in 1992, the facility sits on 23 acres (9.3 ha) along Yaquina Bay
near the Pacific Ocean
. From January 1996 until September 9, 1998 when he was shipped to Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
this aquarium was home to Keiko
, the orca
who starred in the movie Free Willy
. USA Today
considers the Oregon Coast Aquarium world-class and Coastal Living magazine ranks the it among the top ten aquariums in North America.
in Newport into a "world class" aquarium were finalized in 1990.
After early bids were rejected by the aquarium's board of directors, Mountain States Construction was selected to build the first phase for about $12 million in August 1990. Plans for the first phase included construction of a 40000 ft2 building and four acres of outdoor exhibits, with completion expected in spring 1992. Construction began in August 1990 on phase one, with two other phases expected to start three years and eight years later.
On May 23, 1992, the Oregon Coast Aquarium opened with about 5,500 visitors the first day. Those in attendance on the first day included Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Governor Barbara Roberts
, and Congressmen Mike Kopetski and Les AuCoin
. When it opened, the theme of the aquarium was to follow a raindrop from the Oregon Coast Range
all the way to the Pacific Ocean
.
On January 7, 1996, Keiko the killer whale arrived on a United Parcel Service
C-130 cargo plane, with freight expenses donated by the company. This move from Reino Aventura
, an amusement park in Mexico City, came after fund raising by environmentalists and school children to build a $7.8 million habitat for the movie star in Oregon. Keiko was moved to Iceland in 1998 in an attempt to return him to the wild.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium's collection focuses on the flora and fauna native to the Oregon Coast
. The aquarium is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
.
Swampland is a current temporary exhibit features replicated South American swamps of the Pantanal, a Florida mangrove swamp, and a Southeastern U.S. cypress swamp. The exhibit explains the differences between these three types of swamps and the role of animals in these ecosystems.
There are also exhibits focusing on small marine life in the area including jellyfish
, and a tidepool exhibit in which visitors may touch sea stars and sea anemone
s.
Temporary exhibits have included one called Claws that featured crabs, and Oddwater, which featured unusual sea creatures such as the green-blooded Cuttlefish
, the jet-powered Chambered Nautilus
, and the bright-eyed flashlight fish
.
's former tank, it features walk-through acrylic tubes surrounded by deep water marine animals such as shark
s, rays
, and rockfish
.
Passages of the Deep was created in Keiko's former home,and has three sections. Orford Reef contains mostly rockfish and other smaller Pacific-Northwest fish. Halibut Flats contains halibut
, ling cod, a small ray, and other large fish, and includes a mock sunken ship. Open Waters is last section in the tunnel, and holds many species of shark
s including seven gill sharks
, as well as rays
, yellowjack, and salmon
. Throughout the Passages to the Deep exhibit is a collection of Gyotaku
(Japanese "fish rubbing" art).
at Oregon Coast Aquarium exhibits sea and shore birds. Those on display include the sea birds Tufted Puffin
, Common Murre, Rhinoceros Auklet
, Pigeon Guillemot
, and the shore bird Black Oystercatcher. The seabird aviary includes two large pools and rocky cliffs.
s, seal
s, and sea lion
s. There were six of the California sea lion
s when the aquarium opened, but dwindled to four by 2010 when two new ones arrived from San Pedro, California. The rocks in the outdoor exhibit are artificial rocks constructed of gunite.
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
in Newport
Newport, Oregon
Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Opened in 1992, the facility sits on 23 acres (9.3 ha) along Yaquina Bay
Yaquina Bay
Yaquina Bay is a small bay partially within Newport, Oregon, United States, located where the Yaquina River flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is traversed by the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The bay's area is about 8 km² .-See also:...
near 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 January 1996 until September 9, 1998 when he was shipped to Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
this aquarium was home to Keiko
Keiko (orca)
Keiko was a male orca / actor who starred in the film Free Willy and was perhaps the most famous of captive orcas.- History :...
, the orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
who starred in the movie Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
considers the Oregon Coast Aquarium world-class and Coastal Living magazine ranks the it among the top ten aquariums in North America.
History
Newport business leaders proposed building an aquarium beginning in the early 1980s. These leaders proposed a $7 million facility in 1982 as a way to boost the local economy. The group incorporated two-years later as a non-profit, and increased fund-raising efforts in 1987, collecting $11 million by 1991. Plans to turn 23 acres (9.3 ha) along Yaquina BayYaquina Bay
Yaquina Bay is a small bay partially within Newport, Oregon, United States, located where the Yaquina River flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is traversed by the Yaquina Bay Bridge. The bay's area is about 8 km² .-See also:...
in Newport into a "world class" aquarium were finalized in 1990.
After early bids were rejected by the aquarium's board of directors, Mountain States Construction was selected to build the first phase for about $12 million in August 1990. Plans for the first phase included construction of a 40000 ft2 building and four acres of outdoor exhibits, with completion expected in spring 1992. Construction began in August 1990 on phase one, with two other phases expected to start three years and eight years later.
On May 23, 1992, the Oregon Coast Aquarium opened with about 5,500 visitors the first day. Those in attendance on the first day included Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Governor Barbara Roberts
Barbara Roberts
Barbara Kay Roberts is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She is the first and, to date, only woman to be elected to that office. A Democrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority...
, and Congressmen Mike Kopetski and Les AuCoin
Les AuCoin
Walter Leslie "Les" AuCoin , is an American politician and the first Democrat elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from since it was formed in 1882. The seat has been held by a Democrat ever since....
. When it opened, the theme of the aquarium was to follow a raindrop from the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
all the way to 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...
.
On January 7, 1996, Keiko the killer whale arrived on a United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
C-130 cargo plane, with freight expenses donated by the company. This move from Reino Aventura
Reino Aventura
Reino Aventura was an amusement park located in Tlalpan in the south-western part of Mexico City. It opened to the public in March 1982 as the biggest amusement park in Latin America.-History:...
, an amusement park in Mexico City, came after fund raising by environmentalists and school children to build a $7.8 million habitat for the movie star in Oregon. Keiko was moved to Iceland in 1998 in an attempt to return him to the wild.
Exhibits
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
. The aquarium is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
.
Main building
Exhibits in the main building include four permanent displays: Sandy Shores, Rocky Shores, Coastal Waters, and a changing exhibit area. The first features fish and invertebrates that live either close to shore or in bays such a Yaquina Bay. Progressing, the aquarium displays feature animals further offshore ending in a kelp forest and Sea jelly exhibit. Flanking the permanent displays are the changing exhibits.Swampland is a current temporary exhibit features replicated South American swamps of the Pantanal, a Florida mangrove swamp, and a Southeastern U.S. cypress swamp. The exhibit explains the differences between these three types of swamps and the role of animals in these ecosystems.
There are also exhibits focusing on small marine life in the area including jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, and a tidepool exhibit in which visitors may touch sea stars and sea anemone
Sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
s.
Temporary exhibits have included one called Claws that featured crabs, and Oddwater, which featured unusual sea creatures such as the green-blooded Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
, the jet-powered Chambered Nautilus
Chambered Nautilus
The Chambered Nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it is not a golden spiral. The shell exhibits countershading, being light on the bottom and dark...
, and the bright-eyed flashlight fish
Flashlight fish
The flashlight fish are a family, the Anomalopidae, of beryciform fish. There are some unrelated fish with similar features, some of which are also called flashlight fish. Notable among these are the deep sea lanternfish, of the family Myctophidae, of which there are over 200 species.Flashlight...
.
Passages of the Deep
The largest exhibit is "Passages of the Deep", in KeikoKeiko (orca)
Keiko was a male orca / actor who starred in the film Free Willy and was perhaps the most famous of captive orcas.- History :...
's former tank, it features walk-through acrylic tubes surrounded by deep water marine animals such as shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s, rays
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
, and rockfish
Rockfish
Rockfish may refer to one of the following fishes:* One of several species in the Sebastes genus of the Sebastidae family, including the Shortraker rockfish, Rougheye rockfish, Blue rockfish, Yellow tail rockfish and many others....
.
Passages of the Deep was created in Keiko's former home,and has three sections. Orford Reef contains mostly rockfish and other smaller Pacific-Northwest fish. Halibut Flats contains halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
, ling cod, a small ray, and other large fish, and includes a mock sunken ship. Open Waters is last section in the tunnel, and holds many species of shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s including seven gill sharks
Broadnose sevengill shark
The broadnose sevengill shark is the only extant member of the genus Notorynchus, in the family Hexanchidae. It is recognizable because of its seven gill slits, while most shark species have five gill slits, with the exception of the members of the order Hexanchiformes and the sixgill sawshark.The...
, as well as rays
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
, yellowjack, and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. Throughout the Passages to the Deep exhibit is a collection of Gyotaku
Gyotaku
Gyotaku is a traditional form of Japanese fish printing or rubbing, dating from the mid-19th century, a form of nature printing used by fishermen to record their catches....
(Japanese "fish rubbing" art).
Seabird Aviary
The aviaryAviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
at Oregon Coast Aquarium exhibits sea and shore birds. Those on display include the sea birds Tufted Puffin
Tufted Puffin
The Tufted Puffin also known as Crested Puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean....
, Common Murre, Rhinoceros Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
The Rhinoceros Auklet is a seabird and a close relative of the puffins. It is the only living species of the genus Cerorhinca. Given its close relationship with the puffins, the common name Rhinoceros Puffin has been proposed for the species.It ranges widely across the North Pacific, feeding on...
, Pigeon Guillemot
Pigeon Guillemot
The Pigeon Guillemot is a medium-sized alcid endemic to the Pacific. They closely resemble the other members of the genus Cepphus, particularly the Black Guillemot, which is slightly smaller....
, and the shore bird Black Oystercatcher. The seabird aviary includes two large pools and rocky cliffs.
Other outdoor exhibits
Outside the main building, beside the Aviary, are the outdoor mammal exhibits. They contain sea otterSea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
s, seal
Earless seal
The true seals or earless seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal superfamily, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae . They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae...
s, and sea lion
Sea Lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...
s. There were six of the California sea lion
California Sea Lion
The California sea lion is a coastal sea lion of western North America. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand about 5% annually. They are quite intelligent and can adapt to man-made environments...
s when the aquarium opened, but dwindled to four by 2010 when two new ones arrived from San Pedro, California. The rocks in the outdoor exhibit are artificial rocks constructed of gunite.
See also
- Hatfield Marine Science CenterHatfield Marine Science CenterHatfield Marine Science Center is a marine science research and education center next to Yaquina Bay of the Pacific Ocean in the U.S state of Oregon. It is operated by Oregon State University in cooperation with five state and federal agencies co-located on site. Named after Mark Hatfield, a...
, a marine research and education facility adjacent to the Oregon Coast Aquarium