Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga 🐡🐟🐠🦈

We enjoyed our trip to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga Tennessee. 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. There is also a large butterfly garden for those that want to see more than fish.

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.

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. This facility includes hyacinth macaws, a touch tank of small sharks and rays, and a butterfly garden with free-flying South American species.#chattanooga #fisheries