Beaches and Jetties and Dunes, Oh My!

How Oregon Works with Nature

The sun made a timely appearance as today was our last day on this central part of the Oregon coast. A little rain never hurts, but it down-poured the whole day yesterday so we stayed in and I had a chance to practice on some beachy watercolors and do a bit of writing. Our adventure today took in parts of the Oregon Dunes and North and South Jetties. It was a nice warm and not-so-windy day to wander the sandy places.

Jetties are very large manmade rocky outcroppings and their purpose is to stabilize river entrances and protect the navigation channels. They also serve the purpose of managing sediment flow and reducing the influx and outgo of sand into the mouths of the rivers. Jetties are expensive to build, but the system reduces having to do costly dredging to keep the flows open for maritime traffic. South Jetty Beach was glorious today and I love the giant driftwood that collects there.

The Oregon Dunes are the “largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. Some dunes reach 500 feet above sea level.” (Wikipedia) We’ve had some fun in the dunes around Honeyman State Park over the years, but this time we just looked and didn’t climb. The Oregon Dunes are a national recreation area and to keep the dunes in their place, many of them have been planted with hardy brush to prevent them from constantly shifting.