Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a 32-acre protected coastline at Moss Beach, south of San Francisco, known for tidepools considered among the best in northern California. Spanning about three miles of shoreline, it includes beaches, marshes, bluffs, and coastal groves and supports diverse marine and bird life. The area has been used by people for about 5,800 years, later became a tourist destination after the Ocean Shore Railroad arrived in 1908, and was designated a state reserve on August 5, 1969, after concern over damage to its intertidal life. It also holds botanical and geological importance, including Hickman’s potentilla and the active Seal Cove Fault.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain