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Northwest Waters

Did you know?

An anemone that eats fish? What about one that lives for 100 years? We have dozens of white, orange and pink anemones in the enormous Northwest Waters habitat – see how many you can spot!

Explore the Northwest

Inside Puget Sound
Deep, beautiful, cold.
Northwest Waters is a replica of the seascape you’d see underwater right here in Puget Sound – anemones, ratfish, rockfish, even barnacled pilings – all behind a massive glass wall.
Watch for divers!
(They live here too.)
Our Northwest Waters habitat is big enough that we need human divers to clean it and care for our animals. Meet and chat with our divers during our all-new Dive Talk experience.
Dive Talks

Meet our animals

Giant plumose anemone
Crimson anemone
Fish-eating anemone
Rockfish
Flounder

Save our Sound

It takes all of us.

THE THREAT: Animals in Puget Sound face many human-caused threats, like pollution and overfishing. Chemicals and plastic wash down from our streets.

TAKE ACTION: The solution is in our hands. Reduce single-use plastic and find sustainable fish on the Seafood Watch app. And ask your favorite restaurant to commit to being ocean-friendly!

Aquarium Stories

Point Defiance Zoo earns AZA accreditation

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium earned kudos and another five years of accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) in September. The Tacoma zoo also won a significant … Continued

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The Health of Puget Sound

Checking in on Puget Sound’s Health How healthy is Puget Sound? What areas are showing declines, and which are holding steady? Those are the questions divers at Point Defiance Zoo … Continued

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Saving Puget Sound’s Underwater Forests

An underwater crisis is happening, and there isn’t one apparent reason. Since the 1870s, South Puget Sound’s shorelines have lost about two-thirds of their bull kelp forests, according to a … Continued

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Who's Nearby?
Love Northwest Waters? Then check out the Tidal Touch Zone, just down the ramp, where you can touch sea creatures like anemones and sea stars.