Dynamic Oregon Coast: July's Changes Documented

Published 07/22/2012

(Oregon Coast) – Change is definitely the constant on the Oregon coast. Early summer on these beaches was captured in camera recently and showed some extraordinary dynamics of nature.

Rocky Creek Recreation Area, near Depoe Bay (above). A common stopping spot and viewpoint wonder on the central Oregon coast, this place of powerful waves has its mellow side and its secret sides. Not very well known is a series of paths that wander to the north of the main park, where stunning tide pool areas made of rocky slabs hide. It's also interesting to note how calm the waves are here at this time.

Near 35th Street, Lincoln City. Sand levels are exceptionally high at this beautiful little beach spot, which is normally more on the unpopulated side. You can see the tide line gets a bit steeper and the soft sand piles up a little creek into massive pools that turn blue in the bright sun.

Near Road's End, Lincoln City. Still, other places in Lincoln City have slightly lower sand levels than usual. This causes one spot near the Road's End parking lot to reveal some gravel beds (which is cause for celebration for rock hounds), and there's sort of a mini-cove formed by a curve in the sand.

Road's End High Sands, Lincoln City. Oddly enough, about 100 feet away, other sections of the same beach show incredible contrasts. Sand levels here create big sand bars – big enough that it causes the ocean to have a sort of second tide line further inland about 30 feet. This then causes something slightly unusual: when the main tide washes over the sandy hump and into the second tide line, it can push back, causing the curious sight of a wave going backwards, towards the ocean.

Between Yachats and Florence: Ocean Beach Picnic Ground. Sand levels may be pretty high in most places, but at this rather off-the-beaten-track beauty plenty of tide pool action can be found at the southern tip.

Cape Foulweather, near Depoe Bay. A bright moon envelops this post-midnight scene atop this headland, some 500 feet high. Downright dramatic.

Cape Kiwanda, Pacific City. On the more commonly occupied side of the cape, high sand levels create these fascinating patterns.

Cape Kiwanda's northern side. About a mile north of here, at a hard-to-find little road, sits McPhillips Beach. Here, the sand levels were remarkably low for summer, causing some fascinating tide pool action to emerge at the tiny headland jutting out into the ocean, as well as nifty gravel beds. This happened in early July, however, and it could well be gone now.

Rockaway Beach Nocturnal Ghosts. Farther up on the north Oregon coast, Rockaway Beach showed off this exceptional scene in late June. As night began to fall, streetlights painted the dunegrass in some fun and funky ways – as well as colorized smoke from a beach fire, creating this beautiful but slightly ectoplasmic moment.

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