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South Carolina Aquarium

100 Aquarium WharfCharleston, SC 29401Website: Visit Website

The South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston, South Carolina, opened on May 19, 2000 on the historic Charleston Harbor. It is home to more than five thousand plants and animals including North American river otters, alligators, great blue herons, lined seahorses, jellyfish, pufferfish, green moray eels, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, pythons, and sharks. The largest exhibit is the Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium and is the deepest tank in North America (42 feet); it holds more than 385,000 US gallons of water and contains more than seven hundred animals. The Aquarium also features a Touch Tank, where visitors may touch horseshoe crabs, Atlantic stingrays, dogfish and other marine animals. Don’t forget to visit the Sea Turtle Care Center™, a unique experience with a preview into a working sea turtle hospital where you can follow the journey of these endangered creatures from rescue, through rehabilitation and release.