Atlas9 min read
The Commander Islands: Russia's Kelp Outpost of Otters and Fog
Between Kamchatka and the Aleutians, two fog-bound islands hold rich kelp forests, sea otters — and the grave of the ocean's most famous extinction.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
#sea-otter
11 articles
Atlas11 min read
Kelp Forests of the Great Bear Rainforest: A Coastal Atlas Guide
A coastal atlas guide to the kelp coast of the Great Bear Rainforest — BC's wild archipelago of bull kelp, giant kelp, sea otters, spirit bears and deep human tenure.
Tom Okafor ·
Atlas12 min read
Hakai Passage: Cold Green Water on British Columbia's Central Coast
A coastal atlas guide to BC's Central Coast and Hakai Passage — double-canopy kelp, returning sea otters, herring spawn and deep human history in cold green water.
Tom Okafor ·
Atlas11 min read
Kamchatka: Kelp Forests on the Pacific's Wild Far Shore
A coastal atlas guide to Kamchatka's kelp forests: volcanic coasts, otter-held reefs, salmon-fed waters, and one of the least-disturbed kelp ecosystems on Earth.
Tom Okafor ·
Atlas10 min read
The Aleutian Islands: Where Science Learned What Otters Are For
A 1,900-kilometre arc of volcano, fog and kelp strung between Alaska and Siberia — the coastline that taught ecologists how sea otters hold kelp forests together.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Atlas10 min read
The Olympic Coast: Washington's Wilderness Kelp Frontier
No towns, no coast highway, 135 wild miles of rock and bull kelp under the Olympic mountains — the most intact temperate marine wilderness left in the lower 48.
Dr. Lena Fischer ·
Atlas10 min read
Vancouver Island's Wild West Coast: Kelp, Otters and the Pacific Rim
Barkley Sound, Clayoquot Sound and the full weight of the open Pacific: how Vancouver Island's west coast became Canada's kelp laboratory and its best cold-water wild coast.
Tom Okafor ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris): The Keystone That Holds Kelp Forests Together
Sea otters eat a quarter of their body weight a day — much of it sea urchins. How this small predator became the kelp forest's most famous keystone species.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Atlas9 min read
Kachemak Bay: Where the Tides Race and the Kelp Runs Deep
A Coastal Atlas guide to Alaska's Kachemak Bay — nine-metre tides, famed seaweed diversity, otter-held kelp beds, kelp farms and how to visit from Homer.
Dr. Lena Fischer ·
Atlas11 min read
Kelp Forests of Vancouver Island: Sea Otters, Bull Kelp and First Nations Stewardship
An island-wide guide to Vancouver Island's kelp forests: bull kelp surf coasts, sea otter recovery, and the First Nations stewardship shaping their future.
Tom Okafor ·
Explore8 min read
Watching Sea Otters Responsibly: Etiquette, Distance and the Art of Quiet Observation
Sea otters look playful but waste energy if you get too close. Practical distances, what to never do, and how quiet watching supports kelp forest recovery.
Tom Okafor ·