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CoastWatch Mile 212 County Lincoln Description Holiday Beach north, Moore Creek, Grant Creek Boundaries N 44° 34.936', W 124° 4.109' to N 44° 34.05', W 124° 4.207' Google Maps Nearby Roads, Directions to/from, Google photos, Satellite image, Terrain overlay OPRD Map South Beach & Grant Creek to Seal Rock (1) Vehicles • Motor vehicle travel is prohibited from Yaquina Bay (44° 37.0374', Mile 215), southerly to the Lincoln County-Lane County line (44° 16.5774', Mile 190). Weather Current Weather Conditions at nearby stations (may take a minute or two on a dialup connection) Tides The NOAA Tide Predictions site may be found here. Click on the station nearest to your location to see predicted tides in graphical and tabular formats. Photo Driftwood shelter   7/11/12 Wind shelter built of large driftwood, one of several near the mouth of Grant Creek. Lambersons

14 REPORTS FOR MILE 212: philandjan Jul 24, 2012 9:50 AM   Nice morning for a stroll on the beach, 21 others thought so too! The 15 whimbrels feeding near the water's edge were a treat, as were all the flowers- wild rose, monkeyflower, beach rocket, fireweed, silverweed, aster and angelica. A small amount of beach trash included bits of styrofoam and plastic, plastic bags and some wood. Although the tide was low, we did not see the ancient tree stumps which were visible two weeks ago, indicating more sand has moved in to cover the beach. Most of the beach structures we saw then are gone, but there is enough driftwood for some kids to enjoy building new structures.   MORE  Lambersons Jul 11, 2012 9:30 AM   The beach was pleasant and sunny, with 11 people and one dog enjoying the morning before the afternoon fog bank came ashore. People were walking, running, sitting, flying kites and playing soccer. Sand covered the rock shelf and cobbles, and there was very little debris. Large driftwood had been used to build several wind shelters, one decorated with a crab float. Birds included gulls (including one Heermann's Gull), crows, swallows, sparrows, House Finch, 2 eagles, 3 Caspian Terns, and 28 pelicans flying north. The cliffs were adorned with yellow monkeyflowers, clover, wild rose and asters. All in all, a very nice day for a walk on the beach!   MORE    Driftwood shelter    Description: Wind shelter built of large driftwood, one of several near the mouth of Grant Creek. PhilBSB May 18, 2012 10:00 AM   Moved lawn mower to rocky area near the bluff and contacted State Parks to see if Beach Ranger could remove it. Too heavy for me to carry out. Contacted Phillip Johnson about riprap permit application. There seemed to be some confusion about the location. This application is likely one that was originally said to be located in Lincoln City. Beach is mostly clean and have seen lots of shorebirds lately as well as early Pelican arrivals.   MORE  philandjan Jan 28, 2012 11:30 AM   An unusually large number of people and a few dogs enjoyed walking on the beach on this sunny Saturday after the series of storms that the central coast has been experiencing. The driftline contained mostly plant detritus, driftwood of all sizes, and a small amount of mostly marine-derived plastic pieces. Two tires were above the tide line. A few gulls and a couple of crows enjoyed the sunshine, but there were few signs of invertebrates and no beached birds or mammals. Large chunks of rock and sandslides falling from the bluffs indicate active ongoing erosion. The beach is still mostly sandy, with only larger rocks exposed, but at the 5-foot (above MLLW) surfline the ancient tree stumps (1600 year old) are beginning to be exposed.   MORE    Large rocks fall from the bluffs    Description: Some of these rocks fell from the cliffs beginning last fall, and more pieces continue to fall to the beach, indicating active erosion. Location: 44 deg, 34 min, 37 sec N; 124 deg, 04 min, 04 sec W, south of Grant Creek Ancient tree stump exposed at the surfline    Description: This ancient tree stump, remaining from a 1600-year-old forest that was buried in sand, is beginning to be exposed at the surfline 5 feet above MLLW. Sand covered it during the summer. Location: South of the mouth of Moore Creek - 44 deg, 34 min, 20 sec N;124 deg, 04 min, 09 sec W philandjan Dec 31, 2011 12:00 AM   New Year's Eve, the first nice day after several stormy days, brought out more than the usual number of people (18) walking or jogging and enjoying the beach. It was a good day for raptor sightings, with flyovers by a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk, and an adult Bald Eagle. The beach is still covered with sand and clean, with only bits of plastic and short pieces of plastic rope in the driftline. Several fairly large sand and rock falls and vegetation undercuts indicate continuing bluff erosion below houses. No trace of the beach hut that was there in October, but someone had written in the sand: I (heart) the Beach!   MORE    Sandy bluff erosion    Description: Fairly large sand and rockfalls and vegetation undercuts indicate continuing erosion of the bluff below houses Location: Between Grant and Moore Creeks philandjan Oct 6, 2011 12:00 AM   There were 11 people including 2 babies enjoying the sunny weather, walking and sitting, with 3 dogs running (chasing gulls). There was a beach hut made of driftwood just south of Moore Creek. The driftline included a few jellies, large driftwood, marine plastic debris, kelp and a large broken-up couch and sheets of green foam. A total of 8 dead birds, mostly murres and a rhino auklet, was more than usual. Large rocks, recent sandfalls and a chunk of the cliff have recently fallen, indicating active erosion. The beach was mostly sandy, as the winter storms had not yet exposed the underlying cobbles and bedrock. Except for the erosion, debris and the beach hut nothing unusual was noted.   MORE    Fallen chunk of the cliff    Description: A large chunk of the cliff face separated and fell to the beach south of Grant Creek. Location: 1/8 mile south of Grant Creek. Large rock and sandfall    Description: Large rocks and sand fall from the cliff north of Moore Creeek. Location: north of Moore Creek Beach hut of driftwood south of Moore Creek    Description: A rather massive frame for a beach hut made of driftwood replaces the one observed in June along this same stretch of beach. Location: South of Moore Creek. Lambersons Jun 21, 2011 12:30 PM   We celebrated the last few hours of spring with a walk on a foggy, breezy but beautiful beach. Plants in bloom brightened the sand, including wild rose, sea rocket, monkeyflower, sedge, clover, yarrow, wild strawberries, silverweed and lavender sea daisies. Some large pieces of driftwood had stranded north and south of Grant Creek, including three silvered trees with roots. Live birds included a pair of eagles, a few gulls, several swallows and a pair of mourning doves, but no dead birds or mammals were found. The beach was clean, with little plastic trash, and few invertebrates, just pebbles and driftwood, and a couple of rotting bull kelp. A stinky place in the sand may have been where a carcass had been removed - there were tire tracks and footprints there, but no dead animal present. Hoofprints in the sand indicated someone had been riding a horse. Significant bluff erosion including cracks and large sand and rock slumps possibly reflected all the rain this spring. Someone had created some interesting art on the beach near Moore Creek - a driftwood shelter south of the creek and a spiral of colorful stones north of the creek.   MORE    Art on the beach    Description: A spiral of colorful stones was created on the north bank of Moore Creek - we added a stone. Location: North bank of Moore Creek, near high tide line Beach shelter    Description: A driftwood beach shelter was built along the south shore of Moore Creek, near the high tide line. Location: South bank of Moore Creek, near high tide line Erosion of bluff    Description: Significant erosion occurred below the rim of bluffs below houses built near the bluff edge. Location: South of Grant Creek More bluff erosion    Description: Sand and rock slides below the bluff where houses have been built near the bluff edge. Location: North of Moore Creek Lambersons Mar 7, 2011 12:00 AM   We walked beach mile 212 today under partly sunny skies with a light SE-SSW wind and comfortable temperatures (43-47 F). We noticed numerous fairly large sand slumps eroding from the cliffs and many smaller sand slumps and rock slides. Reading the online beach reports, we see that these slumps were previously reported by “pbsbch” (17 Jan 2011 for mile 213) as having occurred the weekend of 15 January when the HMSC weather page recorded over 5 inches of rain (thanks, “pbsbch”!). It looks like the slumps continue to slide, as many looked fresh and even more extensive compared with the excellent photographs posted by “pbsbch”. The beach was covered with sand and many small pebbles hiding the underlying rocky substructure. There was not much plastic trash, as the community beach approach has a trash bag dispenser and encourages users to pick up flotsam and jetsam. The wrack line included tiny bits of plastic, driftwood, some crab carapaces and kelp. No dead birds or mammals were observed; live birds included a few crows, a few gulls and a turkey vulture overhead, and some white-winged scoters foraging in the surf. Six people walking and one dog on leash were enjoying the sunny weather.   MORE    Not much left of the eroding chunk    Description: This shows the latest (3/7/11) stage of erosion of the large chunk of the sand bluff that separated from the cliff just north of Grant Creek in 2006. The vegetated top is gone, and the chunk is eroding significantly. Location: Just north of Grant Creek Lambersons Oct 14, 2010 12:00 AM   We did our mile walk at a beautiful sunrise this morning. Nothing new or unusual to report, just a few gulls foraging at water's edge, four people and three dogs enjoying the cool clear weather, the usual few bits of plastic and fishing debris in the wrack line along with crab carapaces, drift eelgrass (Zostera marina), kelp and a few razor clam shells. We collected a sample for possible identification of some brown gunky effluent from a pipe discharging onto the beach along with a bit of foam. Four dead birds were found - 2 Rhino Auklets, a Pigeon Guillemot and a juvenile Common Murre. Minor rockfalls and sand slides indicated ongoing erosion of the cliffs. The light east wind was chilly (46 F) and stimulated our appetite for breakfast afterwards!   MORE  Lambersons May 14, 2010 10:00 AM   One person was on the beach, apparently rock hunting. A few birds were flying over or foraging on the beach. There were four pigeon guillemots in the surf - a few nest in burrows at the top of the cliffs along this stretch of beach. An old decomposed sea lion carcass was in Moore Creek where the creek entered the upper beach. In January, 2006 a major crack appeared separating a large chunk of beach cliff just north of Grant Creek. This chunk is now eroded to a vegetation-topped pinnacle (see comparative photos). Minor sand slumps and rock falls continue to erode the beach cliffs along this mile. At about 11:00, at tide level 3 ft above MLLW, we found one of the ancient stumps exposed in the surf line just south of Moore Creek. These stumps were part of a forest that existed above the beach several hundred years ago. They ended up at beach level as a result of a large earthquake that caused the land to drop several feet.   MORE    Major crack separates a chunk of beach cliff, January 2006    Description: In January, 2006 a major crack appeared in the beach cliff just north of Grant Creek, separating a large chunk of the beach cliff. Location: beach cliff just north of Grant Creek The chunk in May, 2010    Description: The chunk has eroded to a vegetation-topped pinnacle. Location: just north of Grant Creek Ancient stump exposed in surf line    Description: One of the ancient stumps left from an earthquake centuries ago is exposed at low tide just south of Moore Creek. Location: 3 ft above MLLW, just south of the mouth of Moore Creek MAshley Feb 1, 2009 12:00 PM   I walked north from Thiel Creek to Moore Creek. There were thousands of jellies from low tide line all the way to the cliff face. This makes it obvious that high tide is reaching the cliff face and will continue to erode the area. Adults and children on the beach, that were not playing football, had a bucket, sock, or bag to collect agates, jasper, fossilized bone ect... I discovered one cave in the cliff face that water was pouring out of. I could not tell if this was natural or caused from the development above. The cave was about 20 feet into the cliff then water poored down from above. Mid way between the cliff face and the tide line were a number of large pieces of drift wood mostly buried. There were also many mounds along the beach that looked like large rocks, but with closer observation discovered that they were mud stone. My biggest concern in this area is with the new steps and serious erosion problems here.    MORE  MAshley Jan 14, 2009 1:30 PM   I walked south from Surfland subdivision to the south end of Pacific Shores subdivision. I noticed many small fresh landslides. These slides were filled with fossils. There are numerous drain pipes protruding from cliff face with running water. Certain areas of the cliff face is being eroded from the top and other areas from underneath. I met a man named Adrian who was picking up trash Adrian said he had been doing this for 20 years along this streatch of beach. I also met a couple that was looking for dead birds for an ongoing 25 year study. I noticed a very large tangle (aproximately 30 feet) of kelp that was complete from holdfasts to floats. There were several dead jelly fish, some crab shells and scattered driftwood and rocks. The 2 creeks on the north and south ends of Pacific Shores Subdivision were jammed with large pieces of drift wood.    MORE    mile 212    erosion    more erosion    kelp    jelly    drain pipe    tire filled with styrofoam    chain saw activity    tire tracks on beach    Lambersons Mar 16, 2008 4:15 PM   This is a sandy beach, with 2 creeks, Grant Creek near the north end and Moore Creek near the south end. The beach is backed by sandstone cliffs, bluffs and vegetated dunes with houses along the top of the bluffs. Grant Creek has a bridge over it, but Moore Creek is relatively undeveloped. The flat plain upstream from the beach on Moore Creek, between the beach and the highway, is available for development. The beach today was smooth, with very little debris in the tide line, lots of rocks exposed. There were a few mole crabs washed up, and a couple of Dungeness crab carapaces. Live birds included a few gulls and crows, four turkey vultures, and two ravens. A stranded Brant's cormorant was in the wash zone, but still alive - an eagle flew in and took it to a rock where the eagle devoured the cormorant, supervised by the two ravens. Four northern fulmars and an unidentified alcid were found dead on the beach. The separated part of the cliff that broke off in January 2006 has separated further and is eroding, and there are several small rockfalls and sand slides along the entire mile. People were out enjoying the beach, some with their dogs, both on and off leash.   MORE    Eagle consuming Brants Cormorant    Description: The cormorant was stranded in the surf wash zone, but still alive - the eagle carried it to a rock and ate it. Location: Mile 212, just north of Moore Creek, low tide Date: Mar 16, 2008 12:00 AM Cliff Separation, Mile 212    Description: This chunk of cliff separated in January 2006 and is still eroding. Location: Just north of Grant Creek View of Mile 212 Bluff    Description: This shows the bluff overlooking the beach on Mile 212, with strata representing thousands of years. Location: North of Moore Creek View of Mile 212 beach    Description: This shows the general nature of the beach on Mile 212 at low tide, with houses on the bluff overlooking the beach. Location: north of Moore Creek, low tide Date: Mar 16, 2008 12:00 AM JLamberson Mar 12, 2007 5:30 PM   The beach sand has been scoured away by winter storms, exposing cobbles and flat mudstone reef structure, with fossils and agates. Small sand and rock slides, lots of water coming from drainage pipes. Gulls, a vulture and an eagle flew over, shorebirds skimmed the surf edge. One freshly dead rhinoceros auklet, and one very decomposed sea lion were on the beach. The chunk of cliff that separated in January 2006 is slowly eroding away. An old log projecting from between layers of the cliff face is probably 1600 years old. More plastic trash than usual has washed up in the drift line.   MORE