Mile 224 Report
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
March 4, 2008
Beautiful sunny day.
Report Details
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, bluffs towards the south end of my mile may be exhibiting a somewhat accelerated rate of erosion--bluffs just north & south of southern mile boundary deeply incised by rains & runoff (if latter present).
Human Activities
Number of people: 5. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 5.
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
quite a few gulls flying overhead. Rarely see any shorebirds along this mile, along I think on my last visit I saw some plovers.
Driftline Content
Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Small rocks, Wood pieces. sea grass, lots of plastic bits.
Natural Changes
Visible retreat of solid bluff. usual gradual
Actions & Comments
The most visible retreat of a solid bluff is just north of Beverly Beach park/the bridge. At the north end of the bluff is what looks like a drainpipe that goes under the highway. It seems to be sticking out even further than a few months ago (water was flowing out of it and further eroding the bluff beneath it). Most marked change that I noticed--and it's possible it was present last time but because of the angle of the sunlight put the bluff features in high contrast & the low tide enabled me to walk that much further away from the bluff than last time--is that there seems to have been so much erosion at the top of the bluff that the salal (dying) is draped over the edge of the bluff like a cape. A few large pads of salal have separated from the mass at the top & slid all or part way down the cliff. The stand of pines at the top now seem to be about 2-3 "rows" of pines deep, whereas, 15 years ago it was 6 pines deep (so to speak). The sediment stratas are vivid & cleanly exposed suggested that erosion is pretty continual, i.e, always a fresh surface. Further south the rest of the bluff is deeply incised, as is the bluff south of the creek that forms the southernmost boundary of my mile. Once again, did not see the ancient tree roots exposed. Beach was great, tide was way out, the sun was out, just a mild breeze & the air vibrant & crisp. I really only saw two other people during my walk as the other 3 people (plus dog) were coming up the stairs from the beach as I was going down them. Surf sounds unspoiled by the engine & rotor loud & irritating noises of & small planes flying overhead (small jets are just as bad but much less frequent).
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