Whale Watching Center | |
---|---|
Type | public, state |
Location | Lincoln County, Oregon, United States |
Coordinates | 44°48′37″N124°03′44″W / 44.810142°N 124.06236°W |
Area | <2000 sq ft plus outdoor viewing area |
Created | November 2004 [1] |
Operated by | Oregon Parks and Recreation Department |
Visitors | 100,000 [1] |
Status | open every day during summer (also winter break and spring break); Wednesday through Sunday during autumn, winter, and spring [2] |
Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside | |
Location | OR Coast 9, US101, MO127.61, Depoe Bay, Oregon |
Built | 1956 |
Built by | John Helstrom |
Architect | Carl Schneider (Oregon Highway Department) |
Landscape architect | Harold Spooner |
Architectural style | International style |
NRHP reference No. | 12000082 [3] |
Added to NRHP | March 17, 2012 |
The Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center, also known as the Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside, is an Oregon State Parks-staffed visitor center in Depoe Bay, Oregon, U.S. to help visitors observe whale migration and provide information about whales and other marine mammals, including history, economics, and their environmental and ecological influences. The wayside provides a sheltered platform from which to view the ocean. First established as a wayside parking area on the Oregon Coast Highway in 1930, the wayside building was built in 1956 as a restroom facility for the popular spot. [4] It is located just to the north of the Depoe Bay Bridge, also on the National Register.
The 1½-story concrete building stands directly on the rocky coast at a slightly lower level than the highway, directly adjacent to the entrance to Depoe Bay. The main level consists of a single room used as a display and concession area, with a stairway to the lower level, where the toilets are located. The main room has large windows facing the ocean. A stair in the center of the space leads up to an octagonal observation room in the middle of the roof terrace, with five windows facing the ocean. The roof supports an open-air observation deck. [5]
The structure is surrounded by a concrete plaza that also overlooks the ocean, with a low stone-capped concrete wall surrounding the area. A promenade runs northwards from the wayside along the shoreline, shielded by a stone wall that served as the prototype for the decorative stonework at the wayside's plaza. The observatory building's appearance is essentially the same as its 1950s appearance. [5]
The Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside was built after residents of Depoe Bay implored the Oregon State Highway Department for a restroom facility at the popular location. Conceptual designs were developed by landscape architect Harold Spooner, with four designs: an entirely unobtrusive structure below road level, a low flat-roofed building, a flat-roofed building with a prominent lighthouse-like tower, and a flat-roofed structure (labeled "Cliff House") with an octagonal cupola. The last alternate was chosen, with alterations to incorporate interior stairways and an overall lowering of grade to avoid blocking the view from the highway. Spooner's concept was developed by Oregon Highway Department Carl Schneider. The wayside was completed in June 1956. The main level has been occupied by a series of concessionaires, a condition imposed by the state, concerned that the property be self-supporting. It has been described as a smaller version of Vista House at Crown Point on the Columbia River, and serves a similar purpose. [5]
The Depoe Bay wayside was operated by the Oregon Department of Transportation until 1988, when it was transferred to Depoe Bay. In 2008 it was again transferred to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It has been used as a lookout for watching gray whales since 2005. [5]
Approximately 20,000 whales migrate southward past the center from mid-December to end of January each year. The same number migrate northward, but are distributed throughout mid-March through the first week of June. [6] Gray whales are the most commonly sighted whales year round along the Oregon Coast. [6] Prime viewing is during the migration seasons of December through January, and March through June. July will bring summer feeding whales with peak viewing August through October. Summer is when the whales are the closest to shore making them easier to watch. [7] Other types of whales observed are humpbacks, minkes, orca, [6] and sometimes sperm and blue whale. [1] There are approximately 2500 unique whale individuals observed from the center each year. [8]
The center is free to enter, has binoculars for public use, and is out of the weather.
Winter migration brings the highest concentration of whales, with 20,000 passing Oregon from the last week of December through the first week of February, but winter also brings stormy conditions. Good viewing conditions make it possible to see up to thirty whales an hour but winter weather can make observation difficult, and the rough seas usually cause the whales to travel farther from shore.
Spring migration brings the whales closer to shore, from a 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) to 3 miles (5 km) out, and it also brings better viewing weather. The whales are less concentrated as juveniles, adults and mother/baby pairs travel at different times. The last week of March is usually the beginning of the migration past Oregon and continues through the first week of June.[ citation needed ] Mothers and calves are the slowest moving and usually observed passing Oregon during the month of May.
Whales sometimes spend the summer here instead of traveling to the Alaskan feed grounds. They feed on the clouds of crustaceans (Mysidacea) which hover around the kelp beds. Summer whales feed very close to shore with the best viewing during August through October.
The Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 2012. [3]
Depoe Bay is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, located on U.S. Route 101 on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. The bay of the same name is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) harbor that the city promotes as the world's smallest navigable harbor.
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.
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity, but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes. A study prepared for International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2009 estimated that 13 million people went whale watching globally in 2008. Whale watching generates $2.1 billion per annum in tourism revenue worldwide, employing around 13,000 workers. The size and rapid growth of the industry has led to complex and continuing debates with the whaling industry about the best use of whales as a natural resource.
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.
Whale Cove is a small cove, approximately one-third of a mile (0.5 km) in diameter, located on the Pacific Coast of Oregon in the United States, approximately 1.4 mi (2.3 km) south of the city of Depoe Bay. The cove is located at approximately 44 deg 44 min N latitude.
Humbug Mountain is one of the highest mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon to rise directly from the Pacific Ocean. It lies on the state's southern coast, about 6 miles (10 km) south of Port Orford and 21 miles (34 km) north of Gold Beach. The mountain is completely within Humbug Mountain State Park, and U.S. Route 101 passes by its northern base. Its slopes feature an old-growth temperate rainforest. Two trails run from the state park campground to the mountain's summit, one 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, the other 2 miles (3.2 km) long. Both are part of the much longer Oregon Coast Trail. The area is popular with hikers, campers, cyclists, and whale watchers although biking and camping on the mountain itself are prohibited.
U.S. Route 101 (US 101), is a major north–south U.S. Highway in Oregon that runs through the state along the western Oregon coastline near the Pacific Ocean. It runs from the California border, south of Brookings, to the Washington state line on the Columbia River, between Astoria, Oregon, and Megler, Washington.
Sea Lion Caves is a connected system of sea caves and caverns open to the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. state of Oregon. They are located 11 miles (18 km) north of Florence on U.S. Highway 101, about midpoint on the 400 miles (640 km) of Oregon Coast. In this area, Highway 101 follows a steep and undeveloped seascape 300 feet (91 m) above sea level. Human access to the caves is through a gift shop building.
Shore Acres State Park is a state park 13 miles (21 km) south of Coos Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of three state parks along the Cape Arago Highway, which runs along the Pacific Ocean west of U.S. Route 101. Sunset Bay State Park is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Shore Acres, and Cape Arago State Park is about a mile south.
Chandler State Wayside is a state park in south-central Oregon in the United States. It is named in honor of Solomon and Hattie Chandler, who donated the land for the park. The park covers 85 acres (34 ha) of pine forest along a creek. The park provides restrooms and other basic facilities to accommodate the traveling public. Chandler State Wayside is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
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.
Devils Punch Bowl State Natural Area is a state day use park on the central Oregon Coast in the United States. It is centered on a large bowl naturally carved in a rock headland which is partially open to the Pacific Ocean. Waves enter the bowl and often violently churn, swirl, and foam. Outside the bowl, ocean conditions are attractive to surfers near a large offshore rock pinnacle named Gull Rock, located about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west-northwest of Devils Punch Bowl, which funnels and concentrates waves easily seen from the park. There are at least seventeen large rocks, part of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which provide interesting wave viewing, and attract and provide a home for wildlife.
Whale watching is a popular pastime in Sydney in the winter and spring. There are a number of different migration and whale seasons.
D River State Recreation Site is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It is a sandy beach of the Pacific Ocean within central Lincoln City along the length of the 120-foot (37 m) long D River, one of the world's shortest rivers.
Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint is a state park in Lincoln County in northwestern Oregon, United States. Administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the 59-acre (24 ha) park lies along a bluff between Whale Cove and Rocky Creek. The park extends south along the Otter Crest Loop Road to the Rocky Creek Bridge.
Sunset Bay State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. Administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, it is about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) south of Cape Arago Lighthouse and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) outside the town of Charleston on Coos Bay. The park offers a crescent shaped beach, tide pools, hiking trails and a year-round campground.
The Depoe Bay Bridge is one of a series of significant bridges along the Oregon Coast Highway. The concrete arch bridge spans the mouth of Depoe Bay at milepost 127.61 with a 150-foot (46 m) main span, and a total length of 312 feet (95 m). The bridge's designer was Conde McCullough who designed all of the 1920s bridges on the highway. The original bridge, completed in 1927, was only 18 feet (5.5 m) wide from curb to curb with no sidewalks, and was widened in 1940 with a similar arched concrete bridge immediately adjacent to the original. The added structure is sympathetic to the original and is included in the National Register of Historic Places listing.
Rocky Creek is a short coastal stream in Lincoln County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins near the western extremities of the Central Oregon Coast Range and flows generally west to the ocean south of Depot Bay and north of Otter Rock. It has no named tributaries.