🌊 olas means waves · the friendly whales 🐋

OLAS

Every winter, gray whales swim right past Solana Beach on one of the longest journeys of any mammal. In the warm lagoons of Mexico, some mothers bring their babies up to little boats to say hello. The friendliest whales in the ocean.

move over the calf to pat it · tap the water to call it

Summer up north

Mud for dinner.

In the Arctic summer, gray whales roll onto their sides and suck up mud from the seafloor, filtering out tiny shrimp-like animals. They eat all summer long.

The long swim

All the way south.

When winter comes, they swim about 10,000 km down the coast, right past Solana Beach, to the warm lagoons of Baja California in Mexico.

Lagoon babies

Hello, little one.

In the calm, warm lagoons, mothers give birth to their calves. The babies drink rich milk and grow fast before the trip back north.

The friendly whales

Come say hi.

In some lagoons, mothers bring their calves right up to small boats. The calves come close, blow bubbles and let people pat them.

Back north

A 20,000 km round trip.

In spring, mothers and calves swim all the way back to the Arctic. It's one of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth.

summer: slurping food from the Arctic mud

tap the scene

The great migration

Swim the coast.

Scroll to swim from the icy Arctic all the way down to the lagoons of Baja, waving at Solana Beach on the way.

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Leaving the icy Arctic as winter comes.

Try it yourself

Pat the calf.

Move over the calf to give it a gentle pat. When it's happy it blows a rainbow spout and rolls over. Tap the water to call it somewhere else.

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Whale facts

Gentle giants.

Mud munchers

Gray whales are the only big whales that feed by sucking up mud from the seafloor and sieving out tiny animals.

Epic road trip

Their round trip of up to about 20,000 km is one of the longest migrations of any mammal.

Barnacle passengers

Their skin is covered in barnacles and tiny orange "whale lice" that hitch a ride for life. That's what makes them look spotty.

A comeback story

Hunting once pushed Pacific gray whales close to the edge. Thanks to protection, their numbers bounced back.

Mini game · 30 seconds

Whale watch.

Whales are surfacing all around the boat. Tap each spout to snap a photo before it disappears. Spot a calf for 3 points.

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Tap Start. Then tap the spouts.

Off the coast of Solana Beach

Friends of the coast.

the friendly one

Gray whale

Spotty, barnacled and curious. Passes Solana Beach every winter and spring.

the singer

Humpback whale

Famous for long, haunting songs and huge leaps out of the water.

the biggest ever

Blue whale

The largest animal that has ever lived, bigger than any dinosaur.

the surfer

Bottlenose dolphin

Often seen riding the waves right next to surfers along the coast.

the sunbather

California sea lion

Barks loudly, naps on rocks and loves to show off in the water.

still out at sea

You

Name your whale at the end of the page.

Big whales, little boats, warm lagoon water. A calf swims up to say hi, and the waves carry everyone home. That's $OLAS.

The live migration

Swim with every block.

Name your whale and watch it swim the coast. Every new Solana block moves it 10 km. It swims south to the lagoons of Baja, then turns around and heads back north with its calf.

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