Photo of the Week

Waters off the Alaska coast are full of marine life– including kelp “forests.”

Photo: Spencer Cody

This area is also known for its kelp forests. Yes, if you were on the sea bottom in these areas dominated by kelp, it would look like a forest! Kelp are a very long- and fast-growing brown algae that provide food and habitat for many other marine organisms. Kelp forests form on relatively shallow rocky points and ledges allowing for the holdfasts to form and latch onto the bottom. This gives the resulting algae growth toward the surface the opportunity to collect large amounts of sunlight for photosynthesis.