On the Central Oregon coast

From Coos Bay to Lincoln City the Oregon coast offers a variety of landscapes. After traveling 50 miles along dunes we reach a rocky coastline again. Cape Perpetua, at 243 meters, is the highest point on the Oregon coast. The volcanic rocks forming tide pools are a good habitat for plenty of sea life. We witness the abundance of California sea lions and bay seals, cormorants, pelicans and even a peregrine falcon. It’s a bit too early for the whale migration so we don’t see any. Cute towns dot the highway 101 and we stop for a coffee and a chess game in Yachtats. The Pacific coast is a tsunami hazard zone. The San Andreas fault isn’t the only area where massive earthquakes can happen. Back in 1700, a 9+ earthquake shook the coast triggering a tsunami from California to British Columbia with waves reaching 15 meters high.