Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area is a state park in

Pacific City, Oregon Pacific City is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,109 at the 2020 census. Pacific City is home to the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. History I ...

, United States. Cape Kiwanda is on the Three Capes Scenic Route, which includes

Cape Meares Cape Meares is a small headland on the Pacific coast in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The cape forms a high steep bluff on the south end of Tillamook Bay, approximately five miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Tillamook. M ...

and Cape Lookout. Hiking to the top of Cape Kiwanda allows views of Nestucca Bay to the south and Cape Lookout to the north. A

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

, named "Chief Kiwanda Rock", is located southwest of the cape. It is one of three features along the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

that are called "

Haystack Rock Haystack Rock is a stack (geology), sea stack in Cannon Beach, Oregon, Cannon Beach, Oregon. The monolith, monolithic rock is adjacent to the beach and accessible by foot at low tide. The Haystack Rock tide pools are home to many intertidal a ...

", though the one in

Cannon Beach Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Its population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. It is a popular coastal Oregon tourist destination, famous for Haystack Rock, a sea stack that juts out along the coast. In 2013, ''Na ...

is more widely known. One of the attractions, called the Duckbill, in the park was destroyed by vandals in August 2016. File: PACIFICCITY-Nov2004-MathewDodson.JPG, The cape from the beach in Pacific City, November 2004 File:CapeKiwanda-Nov2004-MathewDodson.jpg, View from the trail on Cape Kiwanda File:Kiwanda Haystack.JPG, Chief Kiwanda Rock File:Aerial View of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area.jpg, Aerial View of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area

Geology

Cape Kiwanda is an unusual promontory in that it is composed primarily of sandstone of the

Astoria Formation The Astoria Formation (formerly known as the Astoria shales) is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Washington (state), Washington state & Oregon. It preserves fossils dating back to the early to middle Miocene (but was formerly thought ...

. At one time, the promontory likely stretched roughly to the southwest, connecting to Chief Kiwanda Rock, an intrusive basalt

that is

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

in age. The

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

and basaltic-sandstone dike on the south side of the cape helped shield the softer

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

from harsh winter waves coming from the southwest. Erosion on the flanks of the cape finally separated the basalt from the sandstone, isolating it as a sea stack. With the basalt's protection gone, the tip of Cape Kiwanda retreated to its current location. While Chief Kiwanda Rock still absorbs some of the impact from southwest storms, the cape is rapidly eroding by waves undercutting along the sea cliffs and by rock fall. Cape Kiwanda, with its many

tide pools A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only ...

, small inlets, natural arches and deep chasms, is a stunning example of large-scale erosional sculpting in sandstone. Remnants of huge

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

-era parabolic dunes that cover the highest parts of Cape Kiwanda add to the scenic interest of the locality. This unique geological feature is a must see and is one of the most photogenic landforms along the Oregon Coast.

References

External links

* State parks of Oregon Parks in Tillamook County, Oregon Kiwanda, Cape Oregon Coast Surfing locations in the United States Landforms of Tillamook County, Oregon {{TillamookCountyOR-geo-stub

Geology

See also

References

External links