Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

When the Ocean Burps on Oregon / Washington Coast It's Insanely Cool

Published 03/31/21 at 1:55 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

When the Ocean Burps on Oregon / Washington Coast It's Insanely Cool

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – You're walking on a pleasant beach somewhere along the Oregon or Washington coastline, sometime between October and maybe late spring. Maybe it's up around Ocean Shores, maybe Manzanita, or perhaps down around Gold Beach. Along this long, pleasant expanse you spot a brown mass covering the beach almost entirely for 100 feet or more. It's nothing remarkable, you think to yourself. No big deal. (All photos courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

Wrong.

Latest Coastal Lodging News Alerts
In Seaside:
Includes exclusive listings; major specials now that winter is here
In Cannon Beach:
Includes rentals not listed anywhere else
In Manzanita, Wheeler, Rockaway Beach:
major specials for winter
In Pacific City, Oceanside:
Winter's enticing specials now
In Lincoln City:
Major winter specials now
In Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach:
major specials this season
In Newport:
Look for many specials
In Waldport
New amenities offered; specials and tempting prices now
In Yachats, Florence
Big deals available; lodgings not listed anywhere else
Southern Oregon Coast Hotels / Lodgings
Reedsport to Brookings, places to stay; winter deals

You're probably looking at what is called an ocean burp – or a mass of detritus. And it's a treasure trove of freaky finds and wowing bits. Sometimes there's stuff still alive in there as well. Laying in that seemingly - at first glance, anyway – pile of sea garbage could be all sorts of stunning stuff, like skate eggs that are still alive, elaborate sea shells, cockleshells, hermit crabs, squid eggs and somewhat rare rock finds.

Tiffany Boothe and Keith Chandler of Seaside Aquarium often talk about these discoveries over the years, reporting into Oregon Coast Beach Connection with regularity about these finds.

“When conditions are just right the ocean will kick up debris that has been collecting on the sea floor and distribute it onto the beach,” Boothe said.


Boothe and Chandler urge beachcombers to keep their eyes peeled on the beaches they're walking on as more engaging stuff is bound to be discovered. It happens a bit more in winter during stormy periods, but spring can provide gobs of these as well.

“If you see a patch of dark brown on the beach, go look through it because you'll find some cool stuff,” Chandler said.

Sea stars, sponges, volcanic rock pumice and sometimes bits and pieces of fish or mammals show up as well. Sometimes, species of starfish rarely seen out of the ocean get chucked up onto the beaches with these episodes. It's a massive cornucopia. Some of these ocean burps have covered enormous chunks of a beach; the aquarium noted one in 2012 that covered two whole blocks worth of Seaside's sands.

It's the live stuff that's the most amazing, and the first to get gone. Chandler said seagulls love these finds and make a feast on them.

“One minute they're happy and safe on the bottom of the ocean, and then all of a sudden they're staring into the eye of a seagull,” Chandler said.

Where and when to look? It's largely luck – and you need a long sandy area, not a rocky cliff, of course.

Squid eggs found by Seaside Aquarium

It's not possible to predict these events, Chandler said, but if two happen in close succession, there's a good chance another one or two upwellings of these objects will happen again. The conditions that create them are somewhat of a mystery – or at least very unpredictable, Chandler said.

Yet both Chandler and Boothe admit less populated beaches will likely yield more interesting stuff as they're less picked over. Which means the farther south you go into remote parts of the Oregon coast or far north into the Washington coast, these could be a goldmine. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours


MORE PHOTOS BELOW







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

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


Coastal Spotlight


LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Cannon Beach Sandcastle Fest This Coming Weekend: N. Oregon Coast Favorite Re...
Saturday, June 10 for more celebratory creations. Cannon Beach events
For International Travelers to U.S., South Oregon Coast Provides Bold, Rugged...
The wild outdoors awaits in Coos and Curry counties. Coos Bay, Bandon, Langlois, Gold Beach, Brookings
Where Were the '20 Miracle Miles?' Quirky to Cool Central Oregon Coast History
A stretch from Otis, Lincoln City to Depoe Bay, sort of
Not THAT South Beach: Newport's South Beach Mix of Oregon Coast Whimsical to ...
What if there was a lot more to the place. Travel tips
Majority of Central Oregon Coast Back Open to Razor Clamming
Reopened from Florence's Siuslaw River to Seal Rock
Garibaldi on the Water's Edge: Sights and Sites on Oregon Coast's Tillamook Bay
Numerous marvel-filled lookouts, crabbing, clamming and adventure
Oregon Coast By Numbers: List of Every Lincoln City Beach Access Along Its Dr...
All beach accesses in the central Oregon coast town
Why the Moon is Bigger Right Now on Oregon Coast / Washington Coast - and Con...
Full moon that's coming up is called the Strawberry Moon. Sciences

Back to Oregon Coast

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