Aquarium of the Pacific

Taking as its focus the planet's largest body of water, this intriguing facility addresses the range of the Pacific basin. It divides the ocean into the Southern California/Baja region, the Northern Pacific, and the Tropical Pacific, exhibiting in detail each one's residents and terrain. The aquarium also highlights sharks, shorebirds, and lorikeets (a brightly colored family of Australian parrots) in replicas of their native habitats. Other special exhibits explore topics like whales and deep-sea ocean inhabitants.