Mile 224 Report

February 7, 2021
by malachite

Location:
Lincoln
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Conditions:
Sunday 3:45 PM
Party cloudy
Tide Level:
0.0 ft
Humans / Pets:
People:
30
Dogs:
7
Activities:
Walking / Running:
23
Playing in surf:
0
Playing in sand:
0
Sitting:
4
Rockhunting:
1
Tidepooling:
0
Surfing:
2
Windsurfing:
0
Kayaking:
0
Fishing:
0
Concerns:
Climbing bluffs/seastacks
Apparent Violations:
Climbing down a part of the bluff that's already being eroded by water from a drainage pipe going under 101. Not an "official" beach access point, the 4 people I saw descending to the beach must've parked along 101.
Disturbances:
Vehicles:
Cars/Trucks parking:
15
ATVs/OHVs parking:
0
RVs/Buses parking:
RVs/Buses parking: 0
Cars/Trucks on beach, allowed:
0
ATVs/OHVs on beach, allowed:
0
Cars/Trucks on beach, prohibited:
0
ATVs/OHVs on beach, prohibited:
0
Activity Comments:
Dogs mostly under control. Partly sunny day on the beach during a low low tide.
Notable Wildlife:
None.
Dead Birds:
Total:
1
Signs of oil:
0
Entanglement:
0
Species/names:
Did not see leg band, saw only parts of a bird, looked like it had been torn part by something. Dog, coyote? Not the right time of year for vultures. Saw what was left of the bird in all the drift logs, cobbles, etc., near a culvert that's almost been blocked by some slides, w/trees growing on top of one of the soil masses.
Stranded:
Total:
0
Fish & Invertebrates:
Driftline:
Small rocks·Wood pieces
Alot of plastic pieces of a variety of colors. NOT plastic pellets, most of them looked like pieces of plastic that had once been part of something larger, some w/sharp points & edges. There were multiple drift lines along one part of the beach and every single one seemed to have more plastic bits/pieces (up to approx 1/5" long) then anything else except for small wood pieces.
New Development:
It's been a year or more since I've walked this mile. It looked to me as if more residential structures had been built on the treed bluffs/area above the beach. There were already some structures, there are just more of them.
Modifications:
Natural Changes:
Landslides/major boulder falls·Newly exposed roots/trees falling·Visible retreat of solid bluff
See previous mention of slides almost blocking a culvert. There was still alot of water coming through the culvert but if the slides continue, the flow of water might eventually be blocked. I tracked the deterioration fo the culvert from when the first concrete slab of one of the walls fell over, flat. Today I tried to get closer to the opening to get a better view, but was unable to see what had been a large square entry into the culvert. Blocked or screen by the slides that have occurred since I last walked the mile, a relatively rapid change (took place over a year or so). For the last two years I walked mile 224 regularly, either state parks or ODOT was bulldozing the drift logs, cobbles, etc., piled near the culvert & its drainage flow area to the ocean. Looks like that didn't happen last year, hasn't happened yet this year, assuming it's still being done at all. Again observed that most of the drift logs seem to be transported further north then where I saw them maybe 7 to 10 years ago. There is a path up from the beach maybe 1/2 mile from the 90 step stairway access at the north end of my mile. At times I had to clamber over drift logs to get to it, today, as on other days, I walked by a few that were deposited there. The path itself is deteriorating, possibly mostly because of normal weathering (rain, human use) but some of the deterioration at the base may be because there are fewer drift logs to protect the lowest steps from the force of the waves of all but the highest tides + storm surges.
Comments:

I've tried to contact ODOT in the past regarding the condition of the culvert & the erosion caused by the drainage pipe (which is eroding a bluff that ultimately helps form the roadbed support for 101) with zero success. I'm unable to provide an exact GPS location and apparently the approximate distance (from Johnson Creek/Beverly Beach) apparently hasn't been good enough. Clearly ODOT or state parks (whoever was bulldozing all the material left each winter near the culvert's ocean/west side opening) knows where the culvert is located. Whoever ran the bulldozer was perfectly situated to report on the condition of the culvert as it runs underneath 101. The steps of the path I took were built by residents of Otter Rock, it's not an "official" state parks path, so no reason to report it to anyone. People who built & maintained it may have moved away, died, or are no longer able to maintain it.

Summary:

Pleasant day at the beach at a low low tide (not a minus tide though. Was on the beach from about 3:40pm to 4:30pm. Number of people seen varied from 25-30 when I first started walking on the beach to 6-7 when I left the beach, it's too bad the mile report format doesn't allow for changes in the number of people noted during a one hour period on the beach. Saw very little to no litter, very few birds (only a few seagulls). Signs of erosion along various parts of the beach bluff as I walked south towards Beverly Beach, particularly, as noted, in/on/around a culvert underneath the highway about 1/3 mile from Beverly Beach. Lots of garnet sands, or heavy minerals & aluminsilicates (like garnet), amphiboles, etc., I've read there's chromite, platinum & gold particles in these sands. I see these sands mostly in the winter/spring because they're heavier then the lighter-colored sand particles & remain behind when rain/high tides transport the lighter sand sized particles.

Other Mile 224 Reports (45)

2019

May 31, 2019 - malachite
Very pleasant day & time for a walk on the beach, very few people. Most of the people I saw were walking/sitting near the long stairway down to the beach at the north end of the mile. Saw 5...
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2018

August 30, 2018 - malachite
Foggy, still day at the beach, at high tide.   Other people on the beach were mostly surfers.  There was one loose dog that seemed to be one of the dogs that surfers bring and then just leave to do...
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May 19, 2018 - malachite
A pretty nice day on the beach. Many people for a cloudy & cool day, concentrated at the north end of the mile. At least half, maybe 2/3s of the people present were surfers plus a few companions...
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2017

June 3, 2017 - Leo Poole
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March 3, 2017 - Leo Poole
Dead seal obsevered, took photo on following day
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2016

December 5, 2016 - Leo Poole
Coast Watch - L. Poole      Mile Number       Date               9/1610/210/410/810/1710/2711/111/911/1111/1511/1812/5Average ObservationsMP 223224            Total People and Dogs25/322/06/021/31/...
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  • Item C--Deck
  • Tote washed up
  • King Tide erosion near Johnson Cr.
August 14, 2016 - Leo Poole
The following is an average of activities observed during 9 visits from 8/13 to 9/13/2016:See attached photo of summary.Observations of significance from 8/13 thru 9/13:Pelicans observed - 8/13, 8/14...
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April 26, 2016 - malachite
Pleasant day on the beach. Of the 3 dogs, 2 not under good control. One dog ran over & tried to play w/my dog (who was interested in retrieving, not playing), the other dog chased whimbrels, no...
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  • Dead bird, tentatively identified as a cormorant. No band seen on single leg visible.
  • Culvert that had a great deal of landslide debris has been cleaned out.
  • Debris removed from culvert channel, and probably also continuing debris from (1) high tides; (2) ongoing erosion/slumping of the bluff to the immediate north of the culvert.
March 7, 2016 - malachite
Beautiful day on the beach, very few people. Clean beach except for a few pieces of styrofoam, a few small pieces of fishing gear, and the now standard hundreds of thousands of plastic bits in the...
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  • Photos of driftline w/contents seen today. Ball tosser in photo to provide scale.
  • Slide on south side of culvert going under 101. Tree may have been on the beach during my previous mile walk, the slide further up the bluff looked new to me. South half of mile (north end of south 1/2)
  • Tall bluff w/clearly defined strata in the south 1/4 mile of mile 224 (just north of the beach access of Beverly Beach state park). Small slides (or mass wasting) of upper strata.
  • Line/large deposit of driftlogs, stretching approximately 1/4 to 1/3 mile. Many more then last year and over a longer stretch of the beach.
  • Beach bluff on high energy beach showing greater exposure of rock (claystone?) strata at the base of the bluff then usually seen even at this time of the year. Note tree on beach, part of a slide further south on the beach.
  • Photo of mile from the long stairway down to the beach. Added just because the beach was particularly beautiful w/sun shining, etc.
January 31, 2016 - malachite
Nice day on the beach, able to toss the ball for my dog to retrieve w/out interference from out of control off lead dogs (dog has has its ball stolen by loose dogs on multiple occasions). Saw only...
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  • Bedrock exposed by action of winter high tides/storm surges at base of bluffs in south 1/2 of mile. I don't remember seeing that much bedrock exposed before.
  • Culvert under 101. You can just see the top of the rectangular culvert, which is probably 4 1/2' high (maybe 5'),usually all of the culvert is visible if you stand near the base of the beach bluff.
  • Small slide just to the north of the creek channel running from culvert to ocean.
  • Private beach access stairway to the beach exposed and concrete base undercut by wave action.
  • Plastic bits of various sizes in driftline. I think the largest piece was about 1" long.

2015

September 29, 2015 - malachite
Two pleasant walks on two separate days 09/29/15 and 10/01/15. The tide was pretty far out on 09/29, so I took photos of rock erosion/collapse near the outlook (see below). On 10/01/15, it was...
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  • Erosion/collapse of poorly consolidated sand"stone" rock that forms outlook point. I don't know when it happened as I don't always inspect this part of my mile (can't get to it when tide is higher).
  • Spotted this bird seemingly hunting the insects doing whatever they do on the small piles of seaweed in the driftline.I don't see many birds on this beach, saw this bird and some gulls today.
  • Small brown crab or crab-like invertebrate, women's size 7 shoe in photo to provide scale. I saw several of these, all dead, of varying sizes but all small.
  • Bee or other pollinator on American or European searocket. Bee had plenty of pollen on two of its legs. There were several other bees as well. Just surprising to see bees/pollinators so active in October.
September 13, 2015 - malachite
All dogs but one under reasonable control. As I walked south, I walked in the same direction as 4 other people, 2 of them, a couple, had 3 greyhounds with them, all off-lead. As I glanced at them,...
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  • Beach bluff near south end of mile, easily distinguished strata. Erosion demonstrated by mats of salal, edges dying, and sediment of upper strata showing as the strata crumbles and slides/rolls down lower strata.
  • Same bluff/section of strata along Mile 224, but w/more of the section included. Compare this photo with the 3rd photo, which was taken on 05/30/2015, for indications of slow erosion by wind and what little rain the area has received since 05/30.
  • None.
May 30, 2015 - malachite
On the beach between 3:15pm and about 4:15 pm. Tide height is approximate, high tide that day at the HMSC dock was 6.1' at 11:26am, and low tide of 2.4' at 4:47pm. More people on the beach then I'...
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  • Long dead carcass of what I think was a mammal.
  • second carcass/skeleton. I thought it might be a large shore bird, but . . . just a guess.
  • A concrete slab that's part of a culvert under Highway 101, has fallen away from its position supporting the vertical section of the cliff.
  • Clumps or little "islands" of salal gradually making their way from the top of the cliff to the base. Might take until next fall (or whenever we get some strong winds and heavy rain) for the clumps to slide all the way to the base.
  • Taken from the long stairway down to the beach. Cape Foulweather park access.Note the different colors of the ocean. Another good day at a beautiful beach with an ocean of many colors to watch.
April 9, 2015 - malachite
Nice day on the beach except for an annoying chocolate lab who decided it was far more fun to follow me & my dog then stay w/his people. See Comments. I wish people would obedience train their...
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  • Photo of drift logs piled at base of cliff at south end of mile 224. Bridge over creek at Beverly Beach state park is visible.
February 19, 2015 - malachite
Beautiful day at the beach, cooler then the past few days have been. All dogs on beach under good control. I arrived at beach around 2:53 p.m., left the beach at 3:55 p.m. When I arrived, it was...
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  • Cloud bank offshore, sunny nearshore, near start of walk.
  • Looking south at start of walk.
  • north of alpine chalet access, house sitting on bluff that's slowly eroding-small slide/mass wasting.

2014

August 26, 2014 - malachite
Nice day on the beach, quite warm despite the stiff breeze. I estimated tide height: according to my tide table, high tide this afternoon at the HMSC dock at Yaquina Bay was 7.6' at 1:54 p.m. so...
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June 28, 2014 - malachite
Nice day at the beach, cool, overcast, little to no wind. Met some surfers coming up from beach (4-5) as I was going down long stairway. Tide coming in, fairly high. High tide at Yaquina Bay...
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  • see photo, small invertebrate, reddish "head", antennae. May hop.
  • Photo of most common driftline content on mile 224 this afternoon.
February 21, 2014 - malachite
Nice day on Mile 224. Quiet, only one dog seen, dog appeared to be under control. A few surfers, mostly people walking or standing on the beach. Garnet "sands" very visible. Beach fairly clean,...
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2013

September 24, 2013 - malachite
Walk of mile several days after a low-level storm on Sunday (today is Tuesday). Human litter almost absent from beach (except for a few pieces of the driftwood) although there were some of the...
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  • View of beach showing many clumps, etc., of seawhips--including some still attached to large cobble sized & well rounded rocks--sea grass, etc.
  • Minor erosion of some of the bluff adjacent to the Alpine Chalets access. Note bench for sitting (belongs to the Alpine Chalets). Tree to the left has slid further down then I remember it being the last time I walked this mile.
May 6, 2013 - malachite
Most notable sighting was of the many live and dead winged carpenter ants which might've been the reason for the unusual number of crows & gulls I saw on the beach today. Usually I see very few...
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March 23, 2013 - malachite
This dispatch is a follow up to my most recent mile report. I reported what I thought might be tsunami debris/invasive species attached to woody debris.I received a response from Chris Havel and...
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March 15, 2013 - malachite
Found some possible invasive species--bivalve or shellfish.I did not find it easy to report this finding. When I got home (around 5pm) I did an online search for a tsunami debris site, first one I...
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  • Driftline notable for substantial number of small clear jellyfish. Tennis ball included for scale.
  • woody debris, possibly tsunami debris, w/mass of bivalve or clam (unknown species/variety) attached.
  • photo showing all of the debris, wood plus attached bivalves/clams.

2012

December 21, 2012 - malachite
Sun was out for awhile, then cloudy. Warmer then yesterday, very little wind. Inca & I had the beach to ourselves--an increasingly rare event. Very enjoyable.Noted increased truck traffic,...
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  • some of the driftlogs on beach, looking towards Beverly Beach.
  • sample of deposit in driftline. Ball tosser placed nearby for scale; ball tosser is approximately 27" long.
  • heavy flow of water through culvert a day or so after heavy rains fell in western OR, afaik this is Johnson Creek.
  • At Johnson Creek outfall, looking north toward headland, north end of mile 224 (Otter Rock). Showing some driftlogs on beach, and a fair amount of surf even though it's two days after the most recent storm front/low moved through.
July 21, 2012 - malachite
Water was way out today; quite a bit of the ocean floor (or an area normally underwater) exposed. I was on the mile from 8:40 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.; the number of people on the beach changed during...
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  • A view of mile 224 looking south towards Beverly Beach state park campground (south boundary of the mile), low tide, at about 8:45am. Taken from near the top of the stairs down to the beach.
  • exposure of beach/exposed ocean floor about midpoint of the mile, near a creek (whose name I can't remember, sorry). Showing water flow patterns, including how heavier minerals (garnets, magnetite, etc.) show flow by their depositional patterns.
  • continued erosion of beach bluff near the south end of the mile.
  • Fire pit in the southern 1/3 of the mile. Just an example of the several firepits I saw. All ready for a party but--no litter so far.
April 1, 2012 - malachite
Actual time on beach was from 3:55pm to close to 5pm and I don't know the exact tide height, low tide for the Marine Science Center dock was listed as 0.9 at 2:55pm. Looked like there was some storm...
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  • Erosion/rock fall of part of headland structure/cliff, north end of mile.
  • photo of items in driftline.
  • Photo showing how water flowing from creek to ocean winnows out the heavier particles of minerals (garnet, magnetite, amphiboles & pyroxenes) from the lighter more silicaeous sand sized particles.

2011

September 24, 2011 - malachite
Very warm day at the beach, not much wind. While it was sunny, there were mare's tail clouds and a fog bank offshore. There was some ground fog further south and it was foggy this morning north of...
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  • On access stairs, looking south down the mile towards Beverly Beach state park access to the beach.
  • A fairly large group of people who appeared to be looking for something, panning? Sluicing? in the creek. I've seen similar activity a few times before in previous years, but never this many people.
March 6, 2011 - malachite
Pleasant day at the beach. More people on beach (mostly walking, 2 surfers) when I left then when I arrived & for the first part of my walk, possibly because the tide was going out. No new...
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  • photo of plastic bits, major component of several driftlines deposited along the southern half of mile 224. Not as abundant/visible along the northern 1/2
  • incised rainwater/runoff channels in poorly consolidated sedimentary rock (layered) of exposed bluff at the south end of mile 224.

2010

November 25, 2010 - malachite
A nice day for a walk, cloudy but not raining, cold, or very windy. I saw more people on the beach than I expected to. No fires, mostly just people & quite a few children, walking on or playing...
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  • plastic bits/trash in driftline, largest pieces maybe 1/2" by 1/2". Plastic bits were concentrated in driftline in southern 1/3 of mile, not so present in driftline of the rest of mile.
September 25, 2010 - malachite
Foggy day at the beach. I arrived about 45 minutes or so after high tide but there was alot of surf, a pretty high energy system. As a result, the waves were reaching much further up the beach then...
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  • looking south from north end of Mile 224, foggy day, not long after high tide.
  • Brown pelicans sitting on westernmost rocks at Cape Foulweather, photo not that sharp.
June 17, 2010 - malachite
Lovely day on the beach. Only one noisy small plane flew overhead, I (& everyone else on the beach) was spared the intrusion & noise assault of a low flying helicopter overflight.Quite a few...
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  • A view of the mile looking south towards Beverly Beach. Note ground fog.
  • Photo posted for purposes of comparison with a photo of the same bluff w/well-defined strata attached to an earlier mile report. To show evidence of ongoing erosion of bluff.
February 7, 2010 - malachite
Beautiful day on the beach. I'm going to try to upload some photos. Some new small slides. Definitely a higher energy beach today--as I walked south towards Beverly Beach, I saw garnet/...
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  • View of mile 224 looking south from Otter Rock, on the stairway to the beach.
  • Slide on Mile 224
  • Substantial slide, worsening of a slide that started last year, in the next creek/substantial outfall north of Spencer Creek at Beverly Beach State park, perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile north.
  • Photo showing a bluff profile that demonstrates a terracing resulting from different rates of erosion of the exposed western face of the bluff. Softer strata erodes more rapidly, with the more resistant strata forming the top surface of the "terrace".
  • Sand w/two types of garnet, amphiboles & pyroxene sediment (sand sized particles), characteristic of high energy beach in this area.

2009

October 2, 2009 - malachite
Lovely sunny day at the beach. More people walking, playing, surfing than I expected. Absence of colored plastic bits from driftline noted, as is significant or noticeable erosion of top strata of...
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August 7, 2009 - malachite
A very large number of people at this beach. I think many are attracted by the surfing lessons, I have no idea who's offering them. The parking lot closest to the beach steps was almost full,...
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June 4, 2009 - malachite
Pleasant walk on the mile, very little litter, saw 5 whimbrels, pelicans fishing offshore (unusual # of birds). Walk ended in heavy rain, thunder & lightning.
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2008

November 19, 2008 - malachite
Clean beach at fairly low tide on a cloudy day. Beach very sparsely populated, just a few surfers & one other walker besides myself. Just the way I like it!
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August 8, 2008 - malachite
Very crowded beach at southern end of mile-where there is beach access from Beverly Beach state park/campground. Significantly less populated at north end. Lots of autos/RVs parked in parking areas...
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May 7, 2008 - malachite
Significant exposure of the beach not long after low tide, unusual number of short lengths of lumber (used) in the driftline, some shorebirds seen on the beach--unusual sight on this mile.
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  • Looking south from access stairs at north end of mile 224 during low tide.
March 5, 2008 - malachite
Main reason to file this report is to document my sight of a bald eagle. It's not the first time I've seen one on this mile, I believe I saw one at least once before during January/February (forgot...
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March 4, 2008 - malachite
Beautiful sunny day. Because my walk started at 4:25pm, very near low tide (0.1), I was able to see rock outcrops exposed on the beach that are often submerged. Some ongoing gradual erosion,...
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January 25, 2008 - malachite
Beautiful, sunny & warm day on the beach. An unusually large number of colored plastic bits seen in the driftline(s). Many small slides seen, no new major slides. Brief discussion of concern...
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2007

November 21, 2007 - malachite
Beach is developing "winter" (higher energy) profile--noted the exposure of the ancient tree trunk/roots about 1/2 way through mile. Noted passage of one of "scenic ride" helicopters--this one out...
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September 21, 2007 - acwasner
Absolutely beautiful afternoon. Surf was high (low tide) and surfers were certainly enjoying it. Where there had previously been debris, many tiny pieces of plastic, there were new gently sloped...
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  • beach to south of Devil's Punchbowl
August 30, 2007 - malachite
Pretty low tide today. Beach was exceptionally beautiful (even for this beach) looking from about 1/4 of the way down the stairway access, looking south. When I first got down to the beach, a fog...
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July 1, 2007 - malachite
It took years but now Oregon beaches have something in common with beaches in Queens (NYC)--trash heads leave shopping carts there.
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April 23, 2007 - malachite
From southernmost end of my mile I could see all the equipment's that been brought in to redo the bridge at Beverly Beach state park. Not a great time to be staying at that campground. Beach was...
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