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Devils Punch Bowl State Natural Area is a state day use park on the central
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 ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is centered on a large bowl naturally carved in a rock headland which is partially open to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Waves enter the bowl and often violently churn, swirl, and foam. Outside the bowl, ocean conditions are attractive to surfers near a large offshore rock pinnacle named Gull Rock, located about west-northwest of Devils Punch Bowl, which funnels and concentrates waves easily seen from the park. There are at least seventeen large rocks, part of
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge off the southwestern Oregon Coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The Oregon Islands provides ...
, which provide interesting wave viewing, and attract and provide a home for wildlife. Devils Punch Bowl is located about south of Depoe Bay, and about north of Newport in the community of Otter Rock, and about west of
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 ...
. The park encompasses , which includes picnic grounds. There is a trail for access to the beach, and
tide pool 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 ...
s. The bowl is thought to have been created when two caves carved by the ocean collapsed. Whales migrate past the park, in season, and the park, which projects into the Pacific, provides panoramic views of the ocean and good whale watching.


History

At one time the Punch Bowl was referred to as "Satan's Cauldron". The park was acquired in at least three parcels between 1929 and 1952. The
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
installed a fresh water system, sanitary works, picnic tables, stoves, trails, and safety fences. Park attendance in 1963 totaled 228,528 visitors. June through October is the park's busiest season.


See also

*
List of Oregon state parks __NOTOC__ This is a list of state parks and other facilities managed by the State Parks and Recreation Department (Oregon), State Parks and Recreation Department of Oregon. The variety of locales and amenities of the parks reflect the diverse g ...
* Whale Watching Center


References


External links

* {{Authority control Parks in Lincoln County, Oregon State parks of Oregon 1929 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1929