Mile 224 Report
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
August 30, 2007
Pretty low tide today.
Report Details
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 bank, looking like white cotton candy covered the beaches from about Beverly Beach south, with fog merging to clearer air as you went north until it was sunny at the base of the stairway and as I walked south (initially). There was a brown tent on the beach, the tent was down or gone and two people were sitting at the base of the bluff with a fire going, looked like they were eating breakfast. On my way back, I walked by the spot where the seal had been. The signs were gone, as was the seal and there may have been some smudges of blood on the sand. Perhaps the guy in the Forest Service green pickup picked up the seal.The topography of the beach had changed since my last visit. The water had formed a kind of bench for about 1/3-1/2 of my mile (north to south) and the beach (from the bluff) mildly sloped (the slope varied as I walked south) up towards the edge of the bench. If you walked down that (3-4' high?) the ground sloped down from the bench and then sloped back up a bit as you went towards the water line (tide had turned to start coming in). Further south, the water had carved a fairly deep and long gully on the beach below the bench. The creek that flows a bit south of the Alpine Chalets was flowing through a shallow channel over the bench and down to the ocean. However, another creek/water outflow north of Alpine Chalet was seemed fairly well dammed by the slope upwards towards the edge of the bench--3 plovers were cheerfully swimming in the large pool formed by this "dam." This bench became shallower and shallower as I walked south and disappeared by about 2/3s of the way south. Would be interesting to see what happens at high tide. Fossil or very old tree stump not exposed, therefore probably sand has been deposited on that section of the mile. No dogs chasing birds, not many birds to chase. This is one of the few times I've seen any birds (dead murre, 3 plovers) besides a few crows, seagulls and vultures (2, soaring) on this beach.
Conditions
Temperature: 60 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 0.8 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 17. Number of dogs: 3. Walking or running: 15. Sitting: 2. Saw green pickup driven by man in purple shirt drive from Beverly Beach (must be a vehicle access at BB state park)north towards the Otter Rock beach wooden stairway. Apparently he was removing a seal from the beach.
Concerns
Fire
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 5. Cars/trucks on beach, prohibited: 1.
Notable Wildlife
See previous comment. Not far south from the access stairway to my mile (north end) there were two signs telling people not to harass seals, plus a seal (harbor seal, I think). The seal wasn't moving, but I didn't get close to it.
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 1. I think it was a common murre. Looked like a vulture might've been at it.
Stranded Marine Mammals
Total stranded mammals: 1. See above comment in notable wildlife.
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Styrofoam. What looked like a kind of grass (sea grass) moderately large clumps spread over southern half of mile (lower driftline)
Natural Changes
Visible retreat of solid bluff.
Actions & Comments
No. Mostly ongoing erosion. Looked as though erosion has progressed (even though it's summer and much decreased rainfall) in area surrounding & encasing a drainage pipe that looks as though it goes under 101. It's been a source of erosion for years, around 4-5 years ago, a section of the pipe fell off because of lack of support (consolidated sandstone had eroded out from underneath it), that section is still lying halfway down the eroded slope. In the meantime, water drips/runs out of pipe opening, and further erodes away sandstone . . . Maybe someday the highway will be undermined and then ODOT will have another manmade excuse to riprap.I did try once to bring this problem to the attention of ODOT. I didn't get anywhere.
malachite
CoastWatcher
All Mile 224 Reports
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Sunny & warm day, with more people & dogs then I've seen in years on the beach, probably because of the heat wave in PDX, the Willamette Valley & so much of the US. In addition to walking the mile to do a Coastwatch report, I participated in a Surfrider day after the 4th beach trash pickup.
s hogg
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Low tide at Yaquina Bay was listed as 12:16 pm today, the north jetty & a headland, and probably about 8-10 miles separate YB from the beach at Otter Rock where my mile is located, I don't know how much those factors change (or not) the exact tide level when I stepped onto the beach this morning OR when I left, about noon. Overall a beautiful day on the beach, on my arrival there were probably 23 people (including surfers) on the beach, that number increased to the number I entered.
S hogg
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Very low tide this am, I have no idea what the exact tide level was so I didn't enter a number.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Pleasant if chilly walk on the beach.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Quite a dynamic winter on this mile, more erosion noted, and a moderate sized slide seen on the mile.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Nice day for a walk on the beach, clean beach, saw 6 cyclists (one solo, I think the rest were more or less together), first time I've seen cyclists on this beach, have seen them off & on from the south jetty north to Lucky Gap access.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Pretty day on the beach, I was on the beach when the tide was going out, my South Beach tide table indicates the low tide in SB was at 9:43 am & 1.
malachite
