DURING a June 2014 visit to the Oregon Coast, I realized more than ever before how vulnerable the coastline is to erosion.
While Cape Foulweather and the Seal Lion Caves appear to be built on bedrock, many other places are not.
Classic example: Ecola State Park's south side facing Cannon Beach.
Through the 1980s, you could climb down a nice trail from Ecola to the far north edge of Cannon Beach. (I still have watchable videos of playing on the beach area.)
However, in the early 1990s, that area had a slide and has never been rebuilt as a trail downward.
Jump to August of 2013 and yet another slide, this one further to the west, took out the trail in Ecola where you can view the lighthouse. It has been closed ever since and may never be opened again.
That's some dramatic change in just 26 or so years.
Go south to Devil's Punchbowl and at the main cliff lookout, you can spot old asphalt over the fenceline, where the fence used to be 10 or so feet further out to the west.
Some vintage photographs from the 1910s also show formations on nearby area beaches, like the Sphinx, that no longer exist, being all eroded away by the water.
--As a sidenote, the Oregon Coast is so dramatic mostly because of all the cliffs and rocks that jut out along the coastline. That's all thanks to an ancient lava flow that created them.
--Also, Cape Foulweather is now owned an operated by the Oregon State Parks Department. So, there's less gift show there now,in favor of having an observation room, complete with binoculars to better enjoy that lofty height.
