This image shows the land and ocean areas around Monterey Bay, just south of San Francisco, CA. The city of Santa Cruz is on the northern shore of the bay. The city of Monterey is on the southern side; the Big Sur coast extends southward.    Because this area is part of the convergent plate boundary between the Pacific plate to the west and the North American plate to the east, many geologic faults cross the area of the image. The San Andreas fault runs through the easternmost valley shown here.    This bay is one of the most biologically diverse bodies of water in the world, and the underlying submarine canyon is one of the deepest underwater canyons along the continental United States. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is located in Moss Landing, midway along the bayshore, where its two research ships and remotely operated vehicles are berthed, giving them immediate access to Monterey Bay.    The ocean area shown in this image is part of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) a Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast. Stretching from Marin to Cambria, the MBNMS encompasses a shoreline length of 276 miles and 5,322 square miles of ocean. Supporting one of the world's most diverse marine ecosystems, it is home to numerous mammals, seabirds, fishes, invertebrates and plants in a remarkably productive coastal environment. 2008 North America Map Bathymetry Sonar:Multibeam MGDS