Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi (10 km) long and 2 mi (3 km) wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located just north of Cape Meares in western Tillamook County approximately 75 mi (120 km) west of Portland.
The bay is protected from the open ocean by shoals and a 3 mi (5 km) sandbar called the Bayocean Peninsula. It is surrounded closely by the Coastal Range except at its southeast end, where the town of Tillamook sits near the mouths of the Kilchis, Wilson, Trask and Tillamook rivers, which flow quickly down from the surrounding timber-producing regions of the Coastal Range to converge at the bay. The short Miami River enters the north end of the bay. The small fishing village of Garibaldi sits near the cliffs opening of the bay in the ocean. The rivers that feed the bay are known for their prolific steelhead and salmon runs. The mixing of freshwater from the rivers with the ocean's saltwater makes the bay an estuary.
The name "Tillamook" is Coast Salish word meaning "Land of Many Waters", probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay.[ citation needed ] At the time of the arrival of Europeans, the area along the coast was inhabited by the Tillamook and other related Coast Salish tribes. Historians believe they entered the area around the year 1400 and Lewis and Clark estimated the population south of the Columbia River along the coast at approximately 2,200.
The first American at Tillamook Bay was Captain Robert Gray who in August, 1788 arrived and explored the surrounding area. He was the first known American to set foot on Oregon shore. Gray at first thought he had landed at the Columbia River, but after discovering his mistake and a hostile encounter with the local natives, where one of Gray's crew and several natives were killed, he left the area after one week's stay.
The bay was settled in 1848 by Elbridge Trask, who journeyed overland to the bay, and subsequent trials of early settlement were described in the 1960 historical novel Trask by Don Berry. The novel and two sequels are collectively known as the "Trask novels".
In 1911 an Oregon Municipal corporation called the Port of Bayocean was formed by a special election to manage land at the entrance to the bay. During World War II, the United States Navy operated blimp patrol station near the bay at Naval Air Station Tillamook. The station was decommissioned in 1948. In 1953 the Port of Bayocean acquired the former station and began operating it as the Port of Tillamook Bay. A 5.5 mi (9 km) railroad spur, originally built by the Navy, connects the coastal communities along the bay to the Southern Pacific Railroad at Tillamook. In 2003, an employee of the Port of Tillamook Bay started a heritage railroad to display the coastal beauty. This railroad was named the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad which operates passenger trains on the 13 miles between Garibaldi, OR and Wheeler, OR. In 2017, a touring company called Oregon Coast Railriders makes use of 6 miles of The Port of Tillamook Bay Rail Road (originally known as the Pacific Railway), where visitors peddle a multi-person cycle-transport that runs on the rails. The bay is within easy driving distance of Portland and is one of the most popular gateways to the Oregon Coast. Planning and slow and steady progress are underway with The Salmonberry Trail, which intends to eventually connect four coastal towns, with passage through the Coastal Mountain Range to Banks, OR; hiking, biking, and horseriding would be possible on this route. The town of Tillamook is the location of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory.
The stone breakwater at the mouth of Tillamook Bay is only 400 meters wide. [1] During heavy weather the waves off the harbor entrance can be 10 metres (33 ft) high, making entering the harbor dangerous. During the July 4th weekend of 1980 Richard Dixon, the United States Coast Guard coxswain of a 44-foot Motor Lifeboat, led two daring rescues off the Tillamook Bay breakwater, for which he was awarded two Coast Guard Medals. [2]
Tillamook County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,390. The county seat is Tillamook. The county is named for the Tillamook or Killamook people, a Native American tribe who were living in the area in the early 19th century at the time of European American settlement. The county is located within Northwest Oregon.
The city of TillamookTILL-ə-muuk is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 5,231 at the 2020 census.
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 Trask River is in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland into Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of five rivers—the Tillamook, the Trask, the Wilson, the Kilchis, and the Miami—that flow into the bay.
The Kilchis River is a stream, about 14 miles (23 km) long, near the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of about 65 square miles (170 km2) in the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland.
The Miami River is a stream, approximately 13 miles (21 km) long, on the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland, into Pacific Ocean.
The Tillamook River is a stream, about 17 miles (27 km) long, near the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains an oceanside valley in the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland and empties into the Pacific Ocean via Tillamook Bay. It is one of five rivers—the Tillamook, the Trask, the Wilson, the Kilchis, and the Miami—that flow into the bay.
Robert Gray was an American merchant sea captain who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade in that region. In the course of those voyages, Gray explored portions of that coast and in the year 1790 he completed the first American circumnavigation of the world. He was also noted for coming upon and naming the Columbia River, in 1792, while on his second voyage.
The Great Coastal Storm of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 4, 2007.
The Tillamook are a Native American tribe from coastal Oregon of the Salish linguistic group. The name "Tillamook" is a Chinook language term meaning "people of [the village] Nekelim ", sometimes it is given as a Coast Salish term, meaning "Land of Many Waters". The Tillamook tribe consists of several divisions and dialects, including :
United States Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, situated near Cape Disappointment, Washington, at the mouth of the Columbia River, is the largest United States Coast Guard search and rescue station on the Northwest Coast, with 50 crewmembers assigned. Cape Disappointment Station is also the site of the oldest search and rescue station within the Thirteenth Coast Guard District. The station's Area of Responsibility reaches from Ocean Park on the Washington Coast south to Tillamook Head on the Oregon Coast.
The 44-foot motor lifeboat was the standard workhorse of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescue boat fleet. The 44′ MLB has been replaced by the 47′ MLB. The boats are powered by twin diesel engines, each powering a separate propeller.
Brighton is an unincorporated community in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. It is about 3 kilometres (2 mi) southwest of Wheeler on U.S. Route 101 next to Nehalem Bay, across the bay from Nehalem Bay State Park.
District 13 is a United States Coast Guard district, based at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, in Seattle, Washington. It covers the Pacific Northwest and its Area of Responsibility encompasses four states; Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. District 13 is divided into three Sectors – Puget Sound, Columbia River and North Bend. The District has more than 3,000 active duty and reserve members, civilian employees, and auxiliaries and operates twenty-one cutters, 132 boats and eleven aircraft.
The Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad is a shortline railroad in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It was established in 1952 to handle switching in Tillamook, Oregon, and came to greater prominence in 1986 when it leased 94 miles (151 km) of the Southern Pacific Railroad's Tillamook Branch.
Richard Dixon was the coxswain of a 44-foot Motor Lifeboat, on the July 4th weekend of 1980, when his skill and daring enabled him to rescue stricken pleasure boat crew off Tillamook Bay, Oregon. During the first incident a 58-foot yacht was in distress in the aftermath of hurricane Celia, and needed to seek sheltered waters, but wave conditions seemed likely to batter it apart if it tried to use the narrow entrance between two stone jetties to enter Tillamook Bay's harbor. Dixon and the coxswain of another motor lifeboat maneuvered beside the yacht, to absorb some of the wave energy as it entered harbor.
Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay is an active duty installation of the United States Coast Guard located in Garibaldi, Oregon, as well as a nationally recognized historic site. A station has been operating in Tillamook Bay since 1908. The station was opened by the United States Life-saving Service a precursor agency to the Coast Guard. The current station has been in continuous operation since 1942.
Bayocean was a yacht that was built in 1911 to serve the now-vanished resort of Bayocean on the coast of Oregon at the entrance to Tillamook Bay. Considered an attractive vessel with a clipper bow and twin raked smokestacks, Bayocean was expensive to operate, was "somewhat cranky" at sea, and spent much of the time tied to a dock. In 1913, Bayocean then transferred to San Francisco Bay where it served briefly as an excursion vessel. In 1918, Bayocean was purchased by the U.S. Navy and converted to a patrol vessel. Following a brief active career, Bayocean was laid up again for about two years, as the Navy demobilized and sought to find buyers for its surplus ships. In 1921, the Navy sold Bayocean at auction to the San Francisco concern of Crowley Launch and Tug, now Crowley Maritime.
The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad (OCSR) is a heritage railroad, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, operating in Oregon, US, primarily between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach, with additional special trips to Wheeler, Nehalem River and into the Salmonberry River canyon. The railroad travels on tracks that pass along the edge of Tillamook Bay and the Oregon Coast, and through thick forest along the Nehalem River. The OCSR runs its collection of vintage rail equipment over 46 miles (74 km) of former Southern Pacific Transportation Company track under a lease from the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad (POTB), an entity distinct from the OCSR. Garibaldi Station is the only station on the system equipped with a wheelchair lift.
John F. McCormick was a sailor in the United States Coast Guard who was recognized for his courage. McCormick was born in Portland, Oregon, and served much of his 26 year Coast Guard career in Oregon. After his 1947 retirement, he made his home in Garibaldi, Oregon; he lived there for another 39 years.
Richard Dixon, a Boatswain's Mate stationed at Tillamook Bay, was awarded two Coast Guard Medals for his heroic actions on July Fourth weekend, 1980.
Petty Officer Dixon is cited for heroism on the afternoon of 3 July 1980 while serving as the coxswain of Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat (MLB) 44409.
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