Morro Bay

Morro Bay is a waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County, California located along California State Route 1 on California's Central Coast. A portion of Morro Bay is also designated as a state and national bird sanctuary. It is also a state and national estuary. Much of Morro Bay is a state wildlife area where waterfowl hunting is conducted during the season and is one of the few areas in California where Pacific brant are pursued. In 2007, the California Fish and Game Commission designated Morro Bay as a marine protected area named the Morro Bay State Marine Reserve.

The town's most striking feature is Morro Rock, a 576 foot high volcanic plug which stands at the entrance to the harbor. Originally it was surrounded by water, but the northern channel was filled in to make the harbor. It was quarried from 1889 to 1969, and in 1968, it was designated a Historical Landmark.

The area around the base of Morro Rock is open to visitors, with parking lots and paths. However, climbing the rock itself is prohibited except with a permit, both due to risk of injury, and because it is a peregrine falcon reserve.

Morro Rock is one in a series of similar plugs that stretch in a line inland called the Nine Sisters. It is possible that the landscape moved over a volcanic hot spot through the ages.