Parking lot at posted coordinates and this is where you find information signs. Use the signs to learn about the Port Orford Coastal Geology and submit the answers to the questions to claim a find.
Port Orford Coastal Geology
How Sea Stacks are Formed
Erosion is a fact of life along the Oregon Coast. After a storm, you'll find areas of sunken grade and road washouts that are the result of erosion.
Oregon's coast used to be more than 10 miles farther west. During the last Ice Age so much water was tied up on the continents as ice sheets that the sea level was nearly 400 feet lower than it is today. Over time, sea levels rose, and land eroded.
Powerful geologic processes are operating here. Tectonic action is joined by the ongoing of wind, rain and waves. The coastline can change quickly as softer formations are washed away. Denser rocks erode more slowly, shaping sea stacks, like Redfish Rocks, that you see off the coast here.
The Oregon Coast is being sculpted by uplift and erosion. Sand, mud and lava flows are moving toward the coast, conveyor-belt style, on top of the Juan the Fuca tectonic plate. As the plates grind, these rocks are uplifted out of the sea as rocks.
As waves and wind erode the softer rock, tectonic action resulting from the downward movement of the Juan de Fuca plate pushes the harder rock closer to the surface.
Questions to Answer:
To get credit for your find, please e-mail me the answers to the following questions using the Send Message link on my profile page:
1. Include GC and number of people in your group
2. There are powerful geological processes operating here. Which one is the slower action, and which one is the faster action.
3. The coast is sculpted by a "Dynamic Duo". Name the two that make up the duo. Which is the faster one, and why do you think that is?
4. In the distance along the coastline you see Humbug Mountain, it is still connected to the land. Describe what you think will happen to it over time?
5. To prove you visited this location, look AROUND to locate a clearly visible, nearby shipwreck, it is within 180' (50 Meters) or so from the posted coordinates. Email me the name of the only thing that is left of this shipwreck, and the name of the ship it came from.
6. Photos are optional, no spoiler pictures please since Neptune or Poseidon will erase them.
You can log after you send the answers. Please, do not include spoiler information in your log.
Source:
- Local Signage / Oregon State Parks, Oregon State University Extension Service
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(geology)