Largest Aquarium in Washington State: Seattle Aquarium

The Seattle Aquarium is a public aquarium in Seattle Washington, located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront. It opened in 1977 and has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The aquarium promotes marine conservation and educates over 800,000 visitors each year (including 50,000 students) on the impact of mankind on marine life. It also conducts research in these fields.
Exhibits include:
Window on Washington Waters.
It is a 120,000-US-gallon tank created as part of the 2007 expansion. It is meant to replicate the coastal waters of Washington state from about 5 to 60 feet, and feature native marine life including salmon, rockfish, and sea anemones. There are dive shows which take place several times a day. Divers wearing special masks are able to converse with visitors.
The Crashing Waves Exhibit.
It is a 40-foot wave tank that replicates Washington shores from the intertidal zone, to a depth of about 5 feet. Life on the Edge. Opened in 2002. Two large exhibit pools that include touch zones allow visitors to see the tide pool life of Washington's outer coast and of Seattle's inland sea.
Life of a Drifter.
It includes a 12-foot high glass "donut" where visitors can be surrounded by moon jellies, a multi-species display featuring the giant Pacific octopus, and a 13-foot touch table where visitors can view some of the area's drifters including juvenile rockfish, sea stars, and plankton.
Birds and Shores consist of three separate areas.
Northwest Shores is an area that shows birds in a variety of habitats of the coastal Northwest. Alcids have diving birds such as tufted puffins and common murres.
The Marine Mammals area includes exhibits for harbor seals, Northern fur seals, sea otters, and river otters, as well as the Orca Family Activity Center. The Orca Family Activity Center is meant to educate visitors about orcas, particularly those belonging to the Southern Resident Community residing in Puget Sound.
The Underwater Dome is an exhibit viewed from a mostly transparent spherical undersea room in a 400,000-US-gallon tank. It was built as part of the original construction and opened in 1977. The tank exhibits species that would be found in Puget Sound including salmon, Lingcod, sharks, sturgeon, skates, and rockfish.
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