Adventure Quick Guides

About Whales and Whale-Watching

Conservation

What to Expect

Before You Go: What to Know (and Bring)

Meet the Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises

Quick Reference Guide

Where to Find Whale-Watching Vessels

Land-Based Whale-Watching Destinations: Alaska and Canada

Land-Based Whale-Watching Destinations: Washington

Land-Based Whale-Watching Destinations: Oregon

Land-Based Whale-Watching Destinations: Northern California

Land-Based Whale-Watching Destinations: Southern California

What Are the Whales Doing? A Visual Glossary

About the Author

Along the West Coast, three species of great whales and a variety of smaller cetaceans can often be observed from land and from whale-watching vessels. The first four species listed here are those nearly all whale-watchers set out to see.

Gray Whales

Each year, approximately 16,500 gray whales partake in one of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth. Their 10,000-mile round-trip takes them from the Bering and Chukchi Seas, where they gorge on amphipods (tiny crustaceans), moving south along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, destined for the warm-water lagoons of Baja California (Mexico). Arriving in these lagoons from December through February, each pregnant female gives birth to a single 17- to 20-foot calf, usually every other year. The calf nurses from the mother, gaining weight.

Humpback Whales

Humpback whales are well-known for their songs, which are apparently sung only by lone males. These songs can last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes.

There are four distinct humpback populations. The Central American population feeds off the West Coast of the US and breeds along the Pacific Coast of Central America. The Mexico population feeds from California to Alaska and breeds off the coast of Mexico. The Hawaiian population feeds in the North Pacific and breeds off the Hawaiian Islands. The Western North Pacific population feeds in the far northern Pacific, mostly in the West Bering Sea, and seemingly breeds in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Asia.

Blue Whales

Blue whales are among the largest animals that have ever existed on Earth, at up to 100 feet and weighing over 165 tons. Their tail alone measures 15 feet across and their heart is as large as a Volkswagen Beetle. They feed exclusively on krill, swimming through swarms of these small crustaceans with their mouths wide open, taking in tons of water and straining the organisms through their baleen plates. Some individual blue whales may take in as much as 7,000 pounds of krill per day.

The historic blue whale population was estimated to have been 350,000. Yet, decades of uncontrolled whaling reduced their numbers to what is currently estimated to be 15,000 animals. Three distinct populations exist worldwide: northern Atlantic Ocean, northern Pacific Ocean, and the Southern Hemisphere. The blue whale population off the coast of California is now estimated at 2,200 animals and appears to be stable.

Killer Whales (Orcas)

It’d be difficult for anyone to mistake a killer whale (orca) for anything else. Their size, coloration, and the tall dorsal fin of the adult males are a dead giveaway. Killer whales (orcas) are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are matrilineal, where the adult females are dominant. They are highly intelligent, social animals that cooperate with each other as they find and take their prey. The resident killer whales (orcas) of the Pacific Northwest feed almost exclusively on salmon, while other populations feed mostly on fish and marine mammals.

Adventure Quick Guides are portable, durable booklets. Designed for ease of use, these pocket-size, spiral-bound guides help readers to quickly identify the things they see in nature: animal tracks, birds, bugs, rocks, wildflowers, and more. Species are conveniently organized by such user-friendly categories as color, shape, or group. Readers open to the correct grouping, where every page features several full-color, professional-quality images, as well as short blurbs of text that provide the basic details needed for positive identification. At around 28 pages per booklet, each quick guide retails for around $10. Adventure Quick Guides are convenient to bring along on hikes and other outings, and they generally focus on specific regions within the United States.