California's north-central
coast is famous for
its natural splendor.

Here, on the very edge of
the North American continent,

steep cliffs meet the
vast Pacific Ocean.

Only 50 miles northwest of
San Francisco's famous Golden
Gate Bridge, yet light years

away from the hustle and bustle
of the human world, lies a
magical underwater island

few people have ever heard of.

It's sensory overload.

I've never seen so much color,
I didn't know where to look.

Pinks, purples, oranges,
even blues and greens,
it's just mind blowing.

Every single square inch
of reef is covered by
some sort of invertebrate.

In some places you've got
sponges growing on top of
corals on top of anemones.

There was the biggest school
of fish that I've ever seen.

Anywhere.

It's truly amazing.

This is the Cordell Bank
- an underwater oasis that
is an ecological Eden.

It is a shallow bank
located at the edge of
the continental shelf.

Cordell Bank is the
seabird capital of the
northern hemisphere.

Seabirders come from
all over the world.

Europe, Asia, Africa,
just to do pelagic seabird
trips out to Cordell Bank.

It's been documented that
whales and seabirds will migrate
from thousands of miles away

to feed at Cordell
Bank because the ocean
there is so productive.

We receive birds from New
Zealand, turtles from Indonesia,
albatross from Hawaii, they

all come here to feed.

Something's got to be right
for all of these birds,
these whales, to come here.

What makes this unique
location so special?

And what is done to research
and protect this place?