Clatsop Spit is an unusually large

sand spit A spit (cognate with the word for a rotisserie bar) or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drif ...

on the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

along

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

between Astoria and the north end of Tillamook Head in Clatsop County, northwest

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, at the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. The Clatsop Spit was formed by

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

brought to the coast by the Columbia River after the last ice age ended and the ocean level rose approximately 8,500 years ago. Here it was worked over and shaped by the wind and the waves until a vast and sandy plain was formed. In regular conversation, referring to Clatsop Spit usually refers to the northern end of the spit: the area that is bound by the Pacific to the west and the Columbia River to the northeast. In the past, the spit was known as ''Clatsop Sands''.

Shipwrecks

The seas around Clatsop Spit were known to be treacherous and there were many

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s, including the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

''General Warren'' in which 42 people died in the surf in 1852. In 1859, the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Rambler'' washed up on Clatsop Spit. No trace of her crew was ever found. In 1860, the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

''Leonese'' washed up on Clatsop Spit upside down and her crew lost. In 1883 the crew of the luxury schooner ''J.C. Cousins'' operated by the State of Oregon similarly vanished as she washed ashore. Other shipwrecks include the

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

''Makah'' (1888), and the bark '' Peter Iredale'' in 1906. It is estimated that since 1800 more than 2,000 vessels and close to 1,000 lives have been lost at the mouth of the Columbia River and in this context it is referred to as the ''Graveyard of the Pacific''.

Geology

After the sea level along the coast rose to its current level approximately 8,500 years ago at the end of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, seasonal

prevailing winds In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular Wind direction, direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a partic ...

drove the Columbia River's sandy sediment to the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

beaches in the winter and to Oregon's Clatsop Spit during the summer months. Through this process the sandy beaches grew dynamically to their present size, but it is unlikely they will continue this fast growth. Most of the sediment generated by the Columbia River is now trapped by a series of

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

before it reaches the coast. Meanwhile, when the tide is out constantly shifting onshore winds blow sand from the exposed beaches inland on to huge

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

. However, during the 1930s most of the spectacular dunes were deliberately controlled by the planting of grass and shrubs to prevent the natural movement of the sand. Now the sand is stabilized by the covering of vegetation and are no longer endlessly in motion, dynamically shaped by the wind. Much of the original dune area now forms a region known as Clatsop Plains. Clatsop Spit is now part of Fort Stevens State Park.

References

External links

Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwrecks on the Washington Coast
{{coord, 46, 13, 44, N, 124, 00, 50, W, display=title Oregon Coast Spits of the United States Landforms of Clatsop County, Oregon

Shipwrecks

Geology

See also

References

External links