Giant Kelp

La Jolla Underwater Life Underwater Photography

Photographing Macrocystis in La Jolla’s Beautiful Forests of Giant Kelp

I have been photographing kelp forests in California with a passion for 25 years, from the Mexican border on up to Monterey including all the Channel Islands. Usually when I go diving in kelp its to San Clemente Island, which arguably has the most beautiful underwater scenery anywhere in California.…

Phil CollaJuly 6, 2015

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part V

When the goal is simply to swim in and admire a kelp forest, nothing beats the (relatively) warm clear waters of Southern California's San Clemente Island in late summer. On a good day the panorama at San Clemente is stunning: kelp in all directions reaching from seafloor to surface, summer…

Phil CollaJune 12, 2005

California Natural World Ocean Sunfish Stories Underwater Life Wildlife

The Kelp Forest :: Part IV

Further to the south, Santa Barbara and Catalina Island kelp forests offer somewhat less profuse animal life but warmer and clearer waters. While I don't dive these two islands often anymore, I do dive kelp originating from these islands throughout the summer: drift kelp. I was introduced to the notion…

Phil CollaJune 11, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part III

Central and Northern California kelp forests are bathed by cold, nutrient-laden currents. The waters here are generally not clear but are rich with animal life. Invertebrate displays on the rocks below the kelp forest are some of the most profuse and interesting in the world and it is common to…

Phil CollaJune 10, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part II

It is my spirited opinion, one that I enjoy defending over a beer after a long day on the water, that diving amidst giant kelp is the most magnificent diving in the world. I am fortunate enough to have had some amazing experiences underwater -- watching swarms of hammerheads soar…

Phil CollaJune 9, 2005

California Natural World San Clemente Island Stories Underwater Life

The Kelp Forest :: Part I

My first experience with seaweed was as a kid combing the shores of Newport Beach where I grew up. After storms my brother and I would find clumps of the brown stuff pushed up the beach. We would pick through them to pop the small bubbles attached to the leaves.…

Phil CollaJune 8, 2005

California San Clemente Island Underwater Life

Kelp Fronds and Pneumatocysts

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is the fastest growing plant in the world. It clings to the ocean floor and grows upward toward the surface, buoyed up by gas-filled pneumatocysts. Growth occurs at the tips of the plant -- the fronds -- which resemble leaves of a terrestrial plant. Kelp frond…

Phil CollaFebruary 28, 2005

California San Clemente Island Underwater Life

Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island

Seen here is the upper 20' of a giant kelp forest. The kelp grows from the ocean floor, 30-100' below, all the way to the surface where it continues growing, spreading out to form a canopy. This species of kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, is the world's fastest growing plant (if you…

Phil CollaFebruary 7, 2005

Photographing Macrocystis in La Jolla’s Beautiful Forests of Giant Kelp

The Kelp Forest :: Part V

The Kelp Forest :: Part IV

The Kelp Forest :: Part III

The Kelp Forest :: Part II

The Kelp Forest :: Part I

Kelp Fronds and Pneumatocysts

Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island

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