| Cape Perpetua | |
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 Cape Perpetua Whispering Spruce view | |
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| Location | Lincoln County, Oregon, USA |
| Nearest city | Yachats, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 44°17′14″N124°06′50″W / 44.2872°N 124.114°W |
| Governing body | United States Forest Service |
Cape Perpetua is a large forested headland projecting into the Pacific Ocean on the central Oregon Coast in Lincoln County, Oregon. The land is managed by the United States Forest Service as part of the Siuslaw National Forest.
Cape Perpetua is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Yachats, Oregon, along U.S. Route 101. It is a typical Pacific Northwest headland, forming a high steep bluff above the ocean. At its highest point, Cape Perpetua rises to over 800 feet (244 m) above sea level. From its crest, an observer can see 70 miles (113 km) of Oregon coastline and as far as 37 miles (60 km) out to sea on a clear day. [1]
Cape Perpetua Shelter and Parapet | |
 West Shelter observation point | |
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| Nearest city | Yachats, Oregon |
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| Built | 1933 |
| Architect | Civilian Conservation Corps; United States Forest Service |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002016 [2] |
| Added to NRHP | March 17, 1989 |
For at least 6,000 years, Native Americans hunted for mussels, crabs, sea urchins, and clams along the coast near Cape Perpetua. Cape Perpetua was part of the southern territory of the Alsea people. In their language the Cape was named Halqaik, which might mean something like 'exposed place'. Evidence of their lives can still be found in the huge piles of discarded mussel shells that lie along the shore near the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center. [1] [3] [4]
The cape was named by Captain James Cook on March 7, 1778, as he searched for the Pacific entrance to a Northwest Passage. Cook named the cape Perpetua because it was discovered on St. Perpetua's Day. [5]
The area became part of the Siuslaw National Forest in 1908. In 1914, the United States Forest Service cut a narrow road into the cliff around Cape Perpetua and constructed a wooden bridge across the Yachats River, opening travel between the small community of Yachats and Florence to the south. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1926 with a steel structure. The Cape Perpetua section of the Roosevelt Memorial Highway (now Highway 101) was built in the 1930s. [3] [5]
In 1933, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was built at the foot of the cape just north of Cape Creek, near where the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center is located today. The CCC constructed the Cape Perpetua campground, [6] a network of trails, and the West Shelter observation point near the top of the cape. During World War II, the West Shelter observation point was used as a coastal watch station, and a large coastal defense gun was temporarily installed. [1] [5] [7] An SCR-270B radar was installed at an undetermined location to take advantage of the height of the promontory. [8]
The Cape Perpetua Shelter and Parapet were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. [2]
The Forest Service created the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area and built the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center in the 1960s to highlight the unique beauty of the central Oregon Coast. The scenic area includes 2,700 acres (1,100 ha) of old growth spruce, Douglas fir, and western hemlock. [1]
Camping, picnicking, hiking, sightseeing, whale watching, and a visitor center with daily programs are all available within the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. There are 26 miles (42 km) of interconnected hiking trails in old growth forests that lead to Pacific Ocean tide pools. [1] [9] One of the trails leads to a 600-year-old giant Sitka spruce known as the Silent Sentinel of the Siuslaw. This tree stands more than 185 feet (56 m) high, and has a 40-foot (12 m) circumference at its base. [10] On September 15, 2007, this ancient spruce was designated an Oregon Heritage Tree by the State of Oregon to recognize its exceptional age and size and ensure its protection. [1]
Along the Cape Perpetua coastline, there are several unique features as well. The Devils Churn is a long crack in the coastal rock that fills with each ocean wave, occasionally exploding as incoming and outgoing waves collide. The Spouting Horn at Cook's Chasm and Thor's Well on the plateau nearby are both salt water fountains driven by the power of the ocean tide. [11] Thor's Well is at 44°16′42″N124°06′49″W / 44.278421°N 124.113499°W . Spouting Horn is at 44°16′39″N124°06′47″W / 44.277497°N 124.112994°W . Both Thor's Well and Spouting Horn are best seen approximately an hour before high tide to an hour after high tide. How spectacular the sights are is a function of the height of the high tide and the direction and size of the swells. The wind can also be a factor. Devil's Churn, Spouting Horn and Thor's Well are popular with visitors; however, all three can be dangerous, especially at high tide and during winter storms. [1]
The Cape Perpetua Visitor Center is located two miles (3 km) south of Yachats. The visitor center has views of the ocean and coast from its deck. It is also used to watch migrating gray whales. The visitor center has natural history and cultural exhibits, an interactive children's science area, a theater with nature films, and a bookstore. An SCR-270B radar was installed on the site in 1943 in response to the bombing of Mt. Emily, Brookings, Oregon. [1]
Florence is a coastal city in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the Pacific Ocean and about midway between Newport to the north and Coos Bay to the south along U.S. Route 101. As of August 14, 2023, the city had a total population of 9,553.
Yachats is a small coastal city in the southernmost area of Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, the name comes from the Siletz language and means "dark water at the foot of the mountain". There is a range of differing etymologies. William Bright says the name comes from the Alsea placename yáx̣ayky. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 994.
The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately 362 miles (583 km) from the California state border in the south to the Columbia River in the north. The region is not a specific geological, environmental, or political entity, and includes the Columbia River Estuary.
The Siuslaw River is a river, about 110 miles (177 km) long, that flows to the Pacific Ocean coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of about 773 square miles (2,000 km2) in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed of the Umpqua River.
Cape Lookout is a sharp rocky promontory along the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southwestern Tillamook County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Tillamook, just south of Netarts Bay. The promontory extends 1.5 miles (2.4 km) perpendicular to the coast, and is approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide at its base, tapering as it extends outward from the coast. Cape Lookout State Park is located on the north side of the promontory, which is part of the Siuslaw National Forest. Cape Lookout Road travels past the base of the cape. Cape Lookout is a member of Tillamook's Three Capes Scenic Drive.
The Alsea River flows 48.5 miles (78.1 km) from Alsea, an unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport. It begins at the confluence of the North Fork Alsea River and the South Fork Alsea River and ends in Alsea Bay, a wide estuary at Waldport. The river flows generally west-northwest in a winding course through the mountains of southern Benton and Lincoln counties, passing near the unincorporated community of Tidewater and through the Siuslaw National Forest. Its drainage basin extends into Lane County, along the headwaters of the South Fork Alsea River.
The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) is a long-distance hiking route along the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of Oregon in the United States. It follows the coast of Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border south of Brookings.
Cascade Head is a headland and 102,110-acre (41,320 ha) United States Forest Service Experimental Forest and part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It is situated 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. Cascade Head Preserve is a Nature Conservancy Selected Site.
Heceta Head Light is a lighthouse on the Oregon Coast 13 miles (21 km) north of Florence, and 13 miles (21 km) south of Yachats in the United States. It is located at Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint, a state park, midway up a 205-foot-tall (62 m) headland. Built in 1894, the 56-foot (17 m)-tall lighthouse shines a beam visible for 21 nautical miles, making it the strongest light on the Oregon Coast.
The Yachats River is a short river on the central Oregon coast, about 60 miles (100 km) west-north-west of Eugene. The name is the native name meaning at the foot of the mountain.
The Cummins Creek Wilderness is a 9,300-acre (3,800 ha) wilderness area in the Siuslaw National Forest within the Oregon Coast. It is one of three wilderness areas created in the Siuslaw in 1984, along with Drift Creek and Rock Creek. It is "dedicated to preserve in a wilderness state, the last remaining virgin stands of Sitka spruce, western hemlock and Douglas-fir, in Oregon's coast lands." Cummins Creek and nearby Cummins Ridge are named for F.L. Cummins, an early homesteader.
The Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site is a state park in southern Lincoln County, Oregon, in the town of Yachats. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast, adjacent to the Oregon Coast Highway and the mouth of the Yachats River. The park is open for day use only, and offers scenic driving on a 1-mile (1.6 km) loop, and wildlife and surf viewing, but is backed on its landward side by low-intensity urban development.
The Yachats State Recreation Area is a state park in southern Lincoln County, Oregon, in the central district of the town of Yachats. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast, on the north side of the mouth of the Yachats River. The park is open for day use only, and offers wildlife and surf viewing, tidepools, fishing, and picnicking.
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. This north-south running range extends over 200 miles (320 km) from the Columbia River in the north on the border of Oregon and Washington, south to the middle fork of the Coquille River. It is 30 to 60 miles wide and averages around 1,500 feet (460 m) in elevation above sea level. The coast range has three main sections, a Northern, Central, and Southern.
Devils Churn is a narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, south of Yachats. It is located in the Siuslaw National Forest and is accessible via the Restless Waters trail from the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area visitor's center or the U.S. Route 101 overlook. Access to the trail requires a United States Forest Service pass.
The Siuslaw National Forest is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes.
Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. This park is in Lane County near Florence and Yachats. Very scenic wide beach, great for dogs, kids, kites. Some areas nearby are SNOWY PLOVER protected breeding areas, where dogs are banned, so be careful to keep dogs leashed if uncertain, and always in the State Park itself.
Cleft of the Rock Light is a privately owned lighthouse located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south of Yachats on Cape Perpetua.
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