BEACH
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Covering 160 miles of Oregon coast
travel: Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Nehalem, Wheeler, Rockaway,
Garibaldi, Tillamook, Oceanside, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe
Bay, Newport, Wadport, Yachats & Florence.
Spring
is here. Are you ready? |
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Strange
Science In Store for Oregon Coast in Summer
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Vibrant
sunset at Cape Lookout State Park |
(Oregon Coast)
- It verges on the paranormal. It’s a truth that’s a
bit out there. And it's a stranger side of Oregon tourism than most
encounter.
It is, in fact,
only weird science of the Oregon coast, and you'll find it more
frequently during summer on Oregon's shores.
There's more
to the coast than beachcombing, kites and just lounging around.
Some wild, weird and wonderful secrets can be found - even if many
are quite rare. It may be an extraordinary event that happens so
rarely you'll be lucky to see it once in your lifetime. Or it could
simply be a manner of being in the right place at the right time.
Oregon’s coastline
gets a whole new, unusual side to it in summer, thanks to a wide
range of oddball natural phenomenon. From sands that glow to sands
that sing, the “ghost forest” of Neskowin or the “green
flash at sunset,” it’s a veritable “X-Files”
case full of strange summer fun for the whole family.
Glorious
Scientific Oddities
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Have
you seen the "green flash"? |
Sunset is one
non-extraordinary, daily event on the coast; it’s simply common
knowledge. But there is a rare occurrence known as the "Green
Flash at Sunset," which is a little more apt to happen during
summer's lovely weather and fall's "Second Summer" on
the coast.
Under the right
conditions, you may see a brief green flash directly above the sun,
just before the last sliver dips below the horizon. This can only
happen on a day of no clouds, and it’s the result of a variety
of conditions that block out certain color bands for a split second.
A little more frequent - but harder to discern - is a slightly longer,
green blob that lingers just above the sunset.
This scientific
oddity was for years a means of ridicule for people claiming to
see it, but by the 70's it was actually documented on film.
Then there are glowing
sands and singing sands.
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South of Cannon Beach, with Haystack
Rock in the distance |
The singing
sands is also very rare and actually happens only on two spots on
the coast: in some areas of the National Dunes Recreation Area south
of Florence and just south of Cannon Beach. Sometimes, it sounds
like distant voices singing. Others, it's a bit like a violin or
an odd, elongated squeaking noise. This, too, only happens under
certain conditions, when two different kinds of sands grind together
under the right degree of humidity.
It's a tiny bit more
frequent in the Dunes area than near Cannon Beach. Even so, park
rangers who've worked at the Dunes for 20 years haven't heard it.
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Lincoln City beach access at night |
During spring
and summer, you'll have a better chance of catching the "glowing
sands," although it's still much more common in tropical climates.
Here, if you find yourself at the tide line on a really dark beach,
you may find a strange, green/bluish spark coming from the sand
kicked up by your feet. This is caused by tiny, bioluminescent phytoplankton
called dinoflagellates, which glow in a manner not too dissimilar
from fireflies. Conditions to look for: a sunny day at the end of
a few days of rain and rough seas. This increases the chances of
bringing the little fellas to shore.
For something rather
unusual but guaranteed, wait until August and the yearly meteor
showers that hit the Earth. While these are easily spotted anywhere
on a clear night, cloudless coastal nights allow especially crystal
clear views of this. The big shower is in August, but keep your
eyes open on clear nights anytime on the coast and you’ll
run a good chance of catching a particularly spectacular show –
even if only for a split second. It’s unforgettable.
Don’t forget to
make a wish.
Frozen
Forests of Neskowin
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Ghost forest specimen |
It's an increasingly
popular resort spot, with a cozy, hidden quality and a slight air
of the upscale in some ways. An interesting mixture of coarse and
fine sands line the area, and Neskowin's miles of beach has a calm
and introspective feel all along its length.
But there's
a twist: beyond the looming presence of Proposal Rock, towards Cascade
Head, lay the remnants of a forest perhaps as old as 10,000 years.
These incredibly preserved, ancient stumps at first glance look
like the leftovers of a manmade pier. They are, in fact, the remains
of a forest that abruptly fell into the ocean due to an earthquake.
Their decay was greatly slowed down because of their sudden drop
into ocean water.
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Proposal Rock |
This most unusual
display of Oregon coast landscape is nicknamed the “ghost
forest,” partially because it is eerie and partially because
of its ominous origins. It is proof of the massive, deadly forces
that lurk just beyond the waves of the coast which periodically
create enormous disasters like huge earthquakes or killer tsunamis.
The ghost forest of Neskowin is the remnant of an earthquake so
colossal it dropped an entire chunk of forest into the surf, some
six feet or so.
On top of Proposal Rock,
more surprises lurk. At lower tides, you can hop up onto the top
of the big blob at the tide line and do some exploring. There's
a small path up top which wanders through the brush. Don't be surprised
to see a bald eagle now and then on the treetops as well. Watch
the tide carefully here, however. You don't want to get stuck.
Flesh-Eating
Darlingtonia Gardens
In
the Florence area, you'll find one beautiful but deadly attraction
- deadly if you're an insect, that is. The Darlingtonia Wayside
features insect-chomping plants that mostly live between there and
northern California. These rarities sit around, just waiting to
catch bugs with their sticky parts, then slowly digest them. Bugs
get lured by the colors and smells they find attractive, and they
soon find themselves confused by clear areas that look like exits,
only to get sucked into sticky parts that eventually cause their
demise. They are slowly sucked down and melted into plant food.
Picnic tables abound
here, and this rainforest-like park features a wooden walkway which
keeps you elevated and away from the protein-hungry plants.
The wayside
is free, and you'll find it just off 101, near Mercer Rd.
Purple
Sails
Also
in the realm of beach wonders, velella velella occasionally show
up on the beaches after spring. These small, purplish, slimy things
wash up in great numbers in spring or early summer. Nicknamed “purple
sails,” this form of jellyfish brings out the seagulls to
feed on them when they wash up, and they start to smell rather pungently
after a while.
Once they dry, they lose
their purple color and become translucent.
“Walking along
the beach, you may have noticed slimy, iridescent blue discs,”
said Tiffany Boothe, of the Seaside Aquarium. “Purple Sails
have clear a ‘sail’ that helps them catch the wind.
However, when the wind blows out of the Northwest, these little
guys get stranded on the beach. Unlike the more common jellies,
the purple sails do not sting. They capture their food while drifting
on the surface of the ocean with small, sticky tentacles. They feed
on fish eggs and small planktonic copepods.”
Boothe said they can
be found in most oceans of the world, preferring warmer waters.
They can reach sizes of four inches in length and three inches in
width. They’ve appeared twice on Oregon’s shores between
April and late May.
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