Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

What Caused Explosive Growth of N. Oregon Coast Beaches Last Century

Published 08/22/21 at 6:42 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

Curious Growth of N. Oregon Coast Beaches Last Century

Latest Coastal Lodging News Alerts
In Seaside:
Includes exclusive listings; some specials in summer
In Cannon Beach:
Includes rentals not listed anywhere else
In Manzanita, Wheeler, Rockaway Beach:
Some specials for summer
In Pacific City, Oceanside:
Some specials for summer
In Lincoln City:
Some specials for summer
In Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach:
Some specials for summer
In Newport:
Look for some specials
In Waldport
Some specials for summer
In Yachats, Florence
Some specials for summer
Southern Oregon Coast Hotels / Lodgings
Reedsport to Brookings, places to stay; summer deals

(Seaside, Oregon) – Most people don't know this about the north Oregon coast: Seaside was once a much different landscape. Instead of all sandy and soft, it was rather rubbly and rocky, and had a fairly steep slope down to the water.

Yet out of the people that do know that, even fewer know that miles and miles of the north Oregon coast did not exist before about 100 years ago. Seaside's beach was around 700 feet shorter, and parts of Fort Stevens had nearly a mile added onto it around the beginning of the 20th.

The curious culprit of all this is the building of the jetties on the Columbia, along with the introduction of invasive dune grass species to stabilize the sands. Construction started in the 1890s and finished up about the early ‘20s, causing a massive shift in the beachscape in far less than 30 years.


Seaside then

Building the jetties greatly increased the rate that sand flowed and then was deposited in the area, and it also can – ironically – cause erosion in other places.



Seaside and Gearhart were affected immensely as well. All those fat, puffy dunes and that long walk to Gearhart's sands were not there back around 1900. Local geologist Tom Horning told Oregon Coast Beach Connection back in 2010 that as much as 2000 feet worth of dunes from east to west was created by those moving sands, and they've gotten as high as 45 feet.

Dune growth rates more than doubled after the turn of the century. Soon, according to Horning, dunes each year grew by around 35 feet and up to three feet vertically.

Scotch Broom was introduced to the area in the early century to stabilize dunes, and that helped dunes grow eastward as well, actually destroying grazing land on the north Oregon coast.

In Seaside, the difference in how the beach looked between 1900 and about 20 years later is remarkable. There was about 100 to 200 feet of it back then, and it had a lot of rounded stones. Now, it's sometimes over 1,000 feet from the Prom to the ocean and it's all soft sands.

Interestingly enough, Seaside would have that wild and untamed dune look of Gearhart if it didn't shave off a few layers of sand every year.

According to Horning, the tides are likely turning on all that collecting of sand, however. Erosion is happening more and more in these areas and it's possible the dune-building may stop and go the other direction.

Hotels in Astoria/Seaside - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours


MORE PHOTOS BELOW






Gearhart

Curious Explosive Growth of N. Oregon Coast Beaches Last Century
Seaside from the air


More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....


Coastal Spotlight


LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Circles in the Sand Returns to Oregon Coast: Florence on Oct. 14
Coinciding with the eclipse - Florence has its own Circles in the Sand and labyrinth walk. Florence events
Rough Seas Prevent Reopening of N. Oregon Coast Clamming
It was scheduled to open on October 1. Sciences
Monsters on the Beach? Cthulu Invading? Not This Time, Say Oregon Coast Experts
Something soggy, slimy and a bit creepy-crawly. Sciences, Washington coast, south coast
Oregon is Ready for Solar Eclipse: Travel Experts' Tips
State Parks is well prepared for the solar event; Travel Oregon's Tips. Sciences, South coast events, Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Pacific City events, Rockaway Beach events, events, Seaside events, Astoria events
Beach Driving Rules in Oregon Coast Town Change: Restrictions in Lincoln City...
Beach driving rules have changed slightly
3 Wild Curiosities of Astoria, Oregon Coast No One Else Has. Hint: 1st Explod...
The only town in the universe Star Trek called 'heaven'; Florence didn't have the first whale. History
Constant Killer Views at One Cannon Beach Legend: Oregon Coast Travel Tips
There's also deep history at this popular, luxury hotel. Cannon Beach hotel reviews, Cannon Beach lodging, Tolovana Inn
Pink Floyd on Oregon Coast? Pigs on the Wing Brings Visual, Sonic Punch to As...
At Astoria's Liberty Theatre this Saturday, September 30

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted