Place Archive

La Jolla Sea Lions

California sea lions gather on the algae-covered rocky shores of La Jolla, a key haul-out site along the San Diego coastline. Nearby rocks also host brown pelicans and cormorants, underscoring the area’s role as a vital habitat for marine and seabird species within the Pacific Ocean ecosystem.

4 photos

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San Diego Zoo

Markers

La Jolla Sea Lions Photo Locations

4 geotagged photos

Photos

California sea lions rest on an algae-covered rock off La Jolla's coast.
California sea lions haul out on rocks like this one along the La Jolla coastline, within the San Diego–La Jolla Underwater Park and Ecological Reserve. Adult males can weigh up to 800 pounds and carry a thick neck and a raised bony crest on the forehead, larger than the females and juveniles they haul out alongside. Unlike harbor seals, they have external ear flaps and can rotate their hind flippers forward, which lets them move on rocks instead of just flopping along the ground.
California sea lions rest on rocky outcrops along the La Jolla coastline.
California sea lions haul out on a rocky outcrop near Point La Jolla, just offshore from the city sidewalks above the water. The area is part of San Diego's marine mammal protected zone, established in 2014 to limit disturbance to the animals. Adult males can weigh up to 800 pounds and dive more than 900 feet in search of squid and fish.
California sea lions and cormorants rest on rocky outcroppings along La Jolla's coastline.
Point La Jolla sits at the edge of the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve, a stretch of coastline protected since 1970. The exposed sandstone reef draws California sea lions, which federal law under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 bars people from touching or approaching. Double-crested cormorants and Brandt's cormorants perch on the same rocks, while La Jolla Shores curves along the hills across the water.
Brown pelicans and cormorants rest on rocky outcroppings off La Jolla, California.
Brown pelicans and double-crested cormorants rest on a sandstone outcrop off La Jolla, with a western gull at its edge. The rock sits within the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park and Ecological Reserve, established in 1970 to protect the shoreline from fishing and disturbance. Brown pelicans nearly vanished from the California coast in the 1970s due to DDT contamination before recovering enough to come off the endangered species list in 2009.

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