Visitor information
The 3/4 mile trail out to Cape Flattery is on Makah Indian Tribe Reservation. A $20 parking permit is require to park at the trailhead. The permit can be purchased at the Tribal Visitor Center/Museum as well as local shops/restaurants.
Please come prepared for unexpected weather conditons and exercise caution walking on the boardwalks. Do not wander off the trail or approach the cliffs except on designated trails.
EarthCache Information
Cape Flattery is the northwestern most point of continental USA. While the Cape cannot "boast" being the western most point (It is only a few hundred feet shy of the official western most point, Cape Alava.) it certainly can boast of very dramatic landscape and views, including several sea caves, the topic for this EarthCache.
Sea caves are formed by the heavy erosional forces of the ocean waves. Cape Flattery is directly exposed to severe weather conditions due to its extension into the Pacific Ocean. Large ocean waves stirred up by strong northwesterly winds hit directly onto the cape and have formed the sea caves that you see from the viewing platform at ground zero.
The geologic process forming sea caves begins with the erosional forces of wind and, particularly waves, pounding on a fault and/or fracture found naturally in a cliff face and bedrock. The force of the waves, eroding softer layers of stone, slowly opens the crack wider and wider; the continual wave and wind forces eventually hollow out a cave formation. Depending upon the extent of the fault line up the face of the cliff and the promixity of the devloping cave to the end of the promontory, an arch or even a sea stack could possibly form.
EarthCache Logging Requirements
In order to log this EarthCache, please send answers, via the geocaching app, for the followig questions related to the sea caves that you see in front of you. Your answers should demonstrate an understanding of the included Earth Science lesson on how sea caves form.
1. How many sea caves are visible from the lower viewing platform?
2. Identify which of the sea caves is the widest and which one is the tallest?
3. Suggest probable cause(s) for the differences in the size of the sea caves.
4. Considering the geologic processes that formed these caves and the particular location of the caves on this penisula, explain why there are sea caves on this particular section of the penisula and not elsewhere on the penisula.
5. Uploaded photos of your visit are not required but always appreciated.
Thank you for visiting this EarthCache. Please send in your answers promptly in order to log your cache.
I wish to extend my appreciation to the Makah Tribe, on whose territory the cache is located, for granting permission to list this cache. Thank you.
Credit is given to the National Park Service web page "Caves and Karst." <https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/sea-or-littoral-caves.htm> for helpful information concerning the geology of sea caves.
Congratulations to RedRum13 for being the first-to-find!