The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is a renowned aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, USA.

Recognized as one of the leading aquariums in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, it is run by the Audubon Institute

Audubon Nature Institute

The Audubon Nature Institute is family of museums and parks dedicated to nature based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It consists of the Audubon Zoo, Aquarium of the Americas, Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, Audubon Park, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center,...

, which also supervises the Audubon Zoo

Audubon Zoo

The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers and is home to 2,000 animals. It is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of...

 and Audubon Park (in a different part of the city). It is located along the banks of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 by the edge of the historic French Quarter

French Quarter

The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...

 off Canal Street

Canal Street, New Orleans

Canal Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of New Orleans. Forming the upriver boundary of the city's oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter , it acted as the dividing line between the older French/Spanish Colonial-era city and the newer American Sector, today's Central Business District.The...

, at the upper end of Woldenberg Park

Woldenberg Park

Woldenberg Park is a park in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was created in the late 1980s/early 1990s on land that had been old wharves and warehouses along the Mississippi River front in the upper French Quarter. It is named after philanthropist Malcolm Woldenberg who helped fund the building of...

. It opened in 1990.
As its name implies, the aquarium specializes in aquatic life of the Americas.