The Tidal Pools and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse

We visited Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Oregon early inSmall fissures and ponds held even more colorful and
the day to learn of its history. Lighthouses wereamazing species, green sea anemones, purple sea
necessities of the nineteenth century. Rocky coastsurchins too numerous to count. Starfish came in all
and poor charting often spelled doom for ships. Themanner of size and color. The largest of these were
lighthouse functioned to warn sea captains of dangeras big as dinner plates and burnt orange in color. Some
and help with location and navigation. Modern day GPSwere palm size and purple or grayish. Some starfish
and satellites have made lighthouses almost obsolete.were attached alone to rocks while in other places
However, Yaquina Head's light shines today as it hasthey were tumbled together.
for more than a century through its Fresnel lens. TheOne very fascinating creature at first looked like the
lens's construction took place on site and contains 250basalt upon which it sat. Black, slightly domed and
pieces of glass. That alone makes it a wonder. Yet,elongated, and only partially covered with a row of
the precision of its construction and pattern allows theeight saddle shaped plates, one might have overlooked
light to be seen 20 miles out to sea. The lighthouseit. Such is the Katy Chiton, which we found in one small
itself is made from 400,000 bricks, is 93 feet tall (tallestpool. Chitons are what I would characterize as living
on the Oregon coast), and has no steel reinforcement.fossils. Surely, biologists refer to these creatures as
One can climb to the top using 114 steps, which we did.close to the ancestral mollusks. They attach
We took a look at the cobblestone tidal pools while atthemselves to the bottom of rocks in shallow water
high tide finding Harbor seals basking on the outlyingand feed on algae. Chitons can move by way of their
rocks. Glaucous-winged, Western and Herring Gullselongated foot.
rode the winds in and about the cliffs. Brandt'sOf course, exposure at low tide means dinnertime for
Cormorants roosted on the larger, taller rocks, andthe gulls and cormorants. We watched as a California
Surf Scoter and Western Grebes rode waves asGull spent his evening at easy pickings. The
they washed in.cormorants were more active diving in the shallows.
At 5:44 PM low tide occurred along the coast ofThere were a couple of Harbor Seals curious enough
Oregon this September day, 2007, and we wereto swim closer to shore, but not too close, to watch us
drawn back to the tidal pools in the evening. Tidal Poolswatch them. Who was the observer; who the
are fantastic marine nurseries. Living organisms whichobserved?
inhabit such must be well adapted to the exposureExperiencing the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and its tidal
that the ebb and flow of the tides dictate.pools at both high and low tide was a highlight to our
At low tide, we were not only able to walk farthertrip. We would recommend to all this adventure. One
onto the cobbles but also onto the basaltic rockwould be astounded by all there is in this most unusual
platforms that fingered their way into the Pacific. Uponhabitat. There is a profound appreciation, all at once,
these platforms were beds of mussels and shelves offor both the fragility of life but the tenaciousness with
Leaf Barnacles. How ever so dead looking thewhich it occupies its chosen niche. It is easy to note
mussels and barnacles appeared, they were not. Justthe interdependence of living organisms in tidal pools.
waiting for the tide to roll back in when they wouldThe concept of food webs and biomes are so
open their shells and feed again.apparent in this most unique of environments.