Tennessee Aquarium
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| Date opened |
May 1, 1992 (River Journey Building) April 29, 2005 (Ocean Journey Building) |
|---|---|
| Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°03′21″N 85°18′39″W / 35.0557°N 85.3108°WCoordinates: 35°03′21″N 85°18′39″W / 35.0557°N 85.3108°W |
| No. of animals | 12,000 |
| No. of species | 795 (as of 2013) |
| Volume of largest tank | 618,000 US gal (2,340,000 L) |
| Total volume of tanks | 1,100,000 US gal (4,200,000 L) |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Website | www |
May 1, 1992 (River Journey Building)
The Tennessee Aquarium is a non-profit public aquarium located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It opened in 1992 on the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, with a major expansion added in 2005. The Aquarium, which has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1993, is home to more than 12,000 animals representing almost 800 species.
More than 20 million people have visited the facility, with the twenty-millionth visitor arriving in March 2013. It is consistently recognized as one of the country's top public aquariums.
The Tennessee Aquarium's exhibits are housed in two structures, the original River Journey building which opened in 1992 and the neighboring Ocean Journey expansion, which opened in 2005.
The River Journey facility is a 130,000 square foot structure equivalent in height to a twelve-story building. It contains a total of 400,000 US gallons (1,500,000 L), and was the largest freshwater aquarium in the world when it opened. It is organized around the theme of the Story of the River, following the path of a raindrop from high in the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately two-thirds of the facility's display follows this theme, with the rest devoted to smaller aquatic exhibits hosting organisms from around the world.
Major exhibits in River Journey include:
River Journey also displays turtles, seahorses, frogs and other aquatic and marine life.
Ocean Journey, a 60,000 square foot structure equivalent in height to a ten-story building, opened in 2005 and contains a total of 700,000 US gallons (2,600,000 L). It ostensibly follows the theme of the River Journey by following the river into the Gulf of Mexico, although it is thematically less consistent than the original structure. This facility includes hyacinth macaws, a touch tank of small sharks and rays, and a butterfly garden with free-flying South American species.
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