A fixture of the Pacific Northwest, misty stratus enshrouds the basalt cliffs and cape-capping meadows of coastal Oregon. Stratus and fog often form over the cold California Current offshore, then move onshore and upslope in westerlies. The cool, moist air ascends the Coast Ranges, further clouding the scenery just inland. Lewis and Clark probably reached no further in their expedition than about this spot. Here they noticed a beached whale carcass, later trading with the Tillamook tribe for 300 pounds of its blubber and some whale oil. The relatively flat terrace above the cliffs, and upon which I was standing, used to be the beach swale, planed off by crashing breakers. It was thrust above sea level, several feet at a time, in a series of massive earthquakes every 300-1000 years, caused by sticky sliding of the ocean floor under North America. Geologists believe these Cascadia Subduction Zone quakes tend to be more violent than anything recorded on land in California, and will be repeated.
3 NW Cannon Beach OR (12 Jul 6) Looking SSE
45.9171, -123.973