Beachcombing | ||
Do not turn your back on the ocean and
never play on the driftwood logs. These logs become buoyant and can be moved around in as little as just one inch of water which can float and roll a log over an unaware person causing injury or death. While
beachcombing, avoid approaching large rocks, islands or reefs which could contain wildlife. Please remember to leave all living animals and plants as you found them, as you are visiting THEIR home. To avoid accidents or disturbing wildlife, use binoculars to bring them closer to you!
Watch the tides:
every 24 hours and 50 minutes the tide rises and falls twice. The incoming
tides are the most dangerous to unwary explorers. Therefore beachcombing
requires a knowledge of tidal ebb and flow. Variations to predicted
tides can be caused by changing weather patterns, currents, wind, and wave size. Therefore, it is prudent to use caution around the ocean. |
For complete tidal predictions and exact times, check the
Hatfield Mariene Science Center tide
chart.
If you are lucky enough to be present for one of our spectacular storms, bundle up after the storm and go in search of treasures left on the beach.
Making your visit
more enjoyable... Dress
in layers, taking along a warm all weather jacket, preferably one with
a hood to protect your head and ears from the cold winds or rain which
we often experience here on the coast and remember to wear old shoes with
non-slip soles or rubber boots for additional comfort! |
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© Photo by Forinash of Newport. |
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Glass Floats
The "Discovery
Season" from October through April is the very
best time to hunt during a walk at dawn, for elusive and increasingly rare
Japanese glass floats from old fishing nets as well as other artifacts
left at sea so many years ago.
Beach lovers are invited to ring in the New Year as |
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all of which
are accessible to the public. If you walk the beach, you will have a chance
to find a work of art.
The floats will be placed
above the high tide line so that they shouldn't be washed out to sea. Please
remember, the North Pacific Ocean can be unpredictable in the winter. If
during the time the floats are released, storms and/or unusually high tides
are predicted, the release of floats will be temporarily stopped to insure
the safety of all. The ocean is full of surprises. Please don't turn
your back on the ocean and watch for sneaker waves (waves that are
much larger than average). That, and a little common sense, will assure
you a safe, unique, and exhilarating experience. One to be cherished forever. |
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Sea Shells of the area would include olive shells, wentle traps, limpets, small clams, mussels and rock snails. Chances of finding sand dollars intact are rare due to the presence of rocks at the tide line. |
The Pacific Ocean, generously
renews the agate supply every year during the winter when the storms are
the hardiest and the tides uncover great beds of gravel at this time of
year. This brings the lighter weight stones characteristic of gem material
to the top. Remember these agate-bearing beaches often change their surface
features, depending on storms and high tides, possibly within just one
tides cycle of 6 hours.
Agates can be collected in
many areas along the coast, but the areas around Newport are some of the
finest agate hunting areas in the world. Each year the supply of stone
is uncovered by the tides. However 2008 was the best collecting
years of probably the last 10 years, and the best thing about beachcombing,
it requires no special tools and it's free! Rare finds are agates with
water and a moveable bubble of air inside called an enhydro and agates
that appear to have fine hair-like needles inside called sagenite. Jasper
is an opaque quartz containing oxide of iron, clay, and many other impurities
and is found in various colors, such as red, butterscotch, brown, green
or any combination there of. Bloodstone is a dark-green jasper with small,
blood-red blotches. These treasures of agate, jasper, and petrified wood
are especially beautiful when polished. A rock
tumbler will polish them into beautiful gems that can be made into
lovely jewelry.
A specific list of all the
collecting beaches in Oregon would be too lengthy to include here. Visit
FACETS
Gem & Mineral Gallery for field
guides or further information of agate and fossil collecting on Oregon's
Central Coast.
Explorer The Oregon's
coast prehistoric past...
For guided Oregon Beach Fossil trips, I recommend contacting Oregon's
Fossil Guy, our resident amateur fossil collector Guy Di Torrice. His
field trip itinerary includes briefing on Oregon coastal geology, Miocene
flora & fauna orientation, Oregon public beach rules & regulations,
beach safety & land conservation, fossil collecting tips, and collected
fossil identification.
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World Wide Web page for personal and educational use only. Unless otherwise
noted all descriptions and images are the property of Myers
Design Labs and may not be copied for commercial purposes. Unauthorized
copying or distribution of this page or any portion thereof without the
express permission of the author is expressly forbidden. Back to home page © 1999 - 2009 Myers Design Labs, of Newport, All Rights Reserved |
Tide pools | ||
Like windows to the sea where the ocean meets the land maintaining a delicate balance of nature which allow visitors to peer into the lives of the little critters and sea plants that call the tide pool home. Sitting just off the coastline these underwater rocks (tide pools) built by nature, are intriguing forms and shapes of the basalt lava pillows (rocks) left by centuries of geologic, wave, wind, and plant action. Covered with green algae these areas can be very slippery and the barnacles which are volcano shaped small sharp shell like creatures. When the tides drop, a kaleidoscopic display of our ocean neighbors unveils itself in Newport's tide pools. |
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Some
tips:
• Check the tide tables so you don't show up at high tide • Visitors should be equipped with appropriate clothing for cold winds or rain which may come up. • Wear old, non-slip rubber-soled shoes; tide pools can be slippery, sharp places. • Keep a close eye on the kids. • Tread Lightly! • Enjoy, Look, But Don't Touch and Pry. To learn more about tide pools expand your sea knowledge before or after a tide-pooling session, visit the The Hatfield Marine Science Center. There's a tide pool display within the exhibit hall of the public wing where you can see and touch the creatures, no matter what weather or the tide is doing down the road at Beverly Beach. And the indoor exhibits will tune you into the oceanic wonders lying in and beyond Newport's tide pools. |
Yaquina Head accessible to all However be aware that Yaquina Head is a protected area and has a strictly enforced "no collecting" policy from this reserve area. Only your respect for the marine life will help the resident species endure for the future. What's tide?
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© Photo by Forinash of Newport. |
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Back to home page © 1999 - 2009 Myers Design Labs of Newport. All rights Reserved |