CALIFORNIA WHALE WATCHING

For the first three quarters of the 19th-century, American whalers chased California's gray whales with relentless efficiency, finally driving them to the brink of extinction. Whaling eased around 1876, when too few of the creatures remained to make whaling operations profitable and whale oil lubricants began to be replaced with petroleum-based oils.

Now, thanks to various laws, moratoriums, and international accords, California's most common cetation, the gray whale, has made a strong comeback. Coastal visitors who arrive at the right times of year (December through May, peak times being January and March) can observe the spouts, splashes, and swim-show acrobatics of gray whales as they migrate up the coast from their winter breeding grounds in Baja California or down the coast from their summer picnic grounds in Alaska, where they gorge themselves on billions of tiny plankton.

These graceful, intelligent mammals are typically 35 to 50 feet long, weigh 25 to 40 tons, and live for as long as 60 years. Pups can be as large as 2,000 pounds at birth. Whale manuevers include "spy hopping," or presumably sticking their heads out of the water to see what's going on, and "breaching," which involves leaping clear out of the water, probably in an effort to rid themselves of parasites.

The best way to watch whales is to put to sea with a knowledgble whale-watching party, but anybody can observe their spouts and splashes from shore. All you have to do is find a high promontory, get comfortable, and let your eyes wander across the marine horizon, always on the lookout for tiny geysers. When you spot one, grab the binoculars.

Norwegian, Icelandic, and Japanese companies have been pushing to resume their whaling operations, which are far more deadly and efficient than they were in the old days, thanks to exploding harpoon tips and huge "factory ships" that strip the animal of its usable parts and dump its carcass back in the ocean. Non-profit, conservation-oriented groups like Greenpeace and the Oceanic Society argue that there are no compelling reasons to resume killing these animals.