Ala Spit, formerly known as Ben Ure Spit, is a small beach of 1,187 feet of shoreline, located on the east side of Whidbey Island, south of Deception Pass.
At times the spit may be partially covered with water at higher tides. If that does occur it will still be possible to make your observations to successfully log the earthcache.
Spits are one of the many kinds of shore forms found along Puget Sound. They are created when wind and water carry enough sand and gravel to create a finger of land. A spit is a strip of beach which extends into deeper water. Most spits along Puget Sound straighten a curving shoreline. Spits often form a straight ridge of sediment across a bay. They commonly develop in the direction of shore drift. A shift in drift direction can form a curve or a hook.
At one end, spits connect to land, while at the far end they exist in open water. They occur, by the process of longshore drift . Longshore drift, (also called littoral drift) occurs due to waves meeting the beach at an oblique angle, and backwashing perpendicular to the shore, moving sediment down the beach in a zigzag pattern. Simply put, spits occur where the inputs exceed the outputs. As spits grow, the water behind them is sheltered from wind and waves, and a salt marsh is likely to develop. Some spits parallel the coast while others extend out from the coast at an angle. Parallell spits are particularly likely to have a salt marsh on its landward side.
Spits provide homes for wildlife. Shorebirds and gulls feed on spits. Bald eagles and other birds use drift logs on spits for perches during the day. The heads of spits provide breeding areas for fish such as sand lance and surf smelt. Ridges of sand, gravel, and cobble can harbor a variety of invertebrates. Butter clams, cockles and native littleneck clams are the most abundant species of invertebrates found on this beach.
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Now, to log this earthcache: The posted coordinates will take you to a bench.
1) What is inscribed on it?
2) Optional but appreciated: Please take a picture of yourself or group somewhere on the spit or the nearby Ala Spit Beach sign and include this with your found log.
3) Please compare the landward side of the spit from the seaward side and note at least three differences.
Please e-mail the answers to us but do not include them with your found log! Failure to do that in a timely manner will result in a log deletion. You do not need a response from us in order to log this cache. We hope you learned a thing or two about spits and thanks for visiting Ala Spit!
Photo honors goes to Liblablady for the lovely shot, Thank-you! FTF honors goes to brewman65 Congrats!
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Warning: Earthcaches come with a unique set of rules and activities that must be met
before successfully logging. Failure to comply will result in a log deletion.
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