Thread by @BelleResist

I had the opportunity to visit the Oregon coast yesterday and go on a fossil-hunting trip, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight the unique beauty and history of Oregon's beaches! 1/

People from other parts of the country may not be aware of the unique history of Oregon's coast. Unlike other costal states, all of Oregon's beaches are completely public and open for public use. This is partly due to their historic use as roads. 2/

Oregon has wide swaths of sandy beaches that were often used for transportation, as they extend north-south. In 1913 the entire length of Oregon's shoreline was declared a state highway, and the newly created State Highway Commission began constructing Highway 101. 3/

The state purchased land along the coastal highway for the creation of 36 state parks, several of which our group visited yesterday.

In 1966, a hotel owner challenged the public status of Oregon beaches. The legislature responded by putting forward the Oregon Beach Bill. 4/

Concerns about private property rights made the bill controversial, until Republican governor Tom McCall brought surveyors and scientists to the coast as part of a major media event in support of the bill, which later passed on July 6, 1967. 5/

All wet sand near the low tide line is considered public property, as well as easements up to the vegetation line along Oregon beaches. I spent many summer weekends exploring these beaches during my childhood. 6/

Signs at some of the beaches we visited yesterday had warnings that climbing on rocks and cliff faces was prohibited, and I'm fairly certain that it is ordinarily not allowed to remove fossils from the area, so if you are visiting Oregon beaches, please do not do so. 7/

Yesterday's excursion was hosted by a university geologist who had a special agreement allowing us to explore and collect fossils. He also gave us a lecture on the geological history of the Oregon coast. You can see the slanted rock layers on the exposed cliffsides. 8/

Some of the weathered rock surfaces are very smooth. You can see the beautiful striation here. 9/

A ball of grass created by the waves tumbling it about. 10/

We visited at low tide so we could see the prime locations for fossils and unusual rock formations. 11/

This honeycomb pattern of weathering has something to do with salt water evaporating. I didn't catch the specifics, but you can see this pattern all over the area. It looks almost alien. 12/

In addition to honeycomb weathering, some indentations are made or enlarged by boring clams. As our guide said, "All clams are somewhat boring, but this type actually bores holes into the rock." 13/

Due to recent storms, there were a lot of small waterfalls all along the coast. 14/

Looks almost like a sci-fi movie set. 15/

We had to carefully make our way around and over these exposed mussel beds. 16/

There were plenty of empty mussel shells to collect on the beach. These living mussels, of course, we left alone. 17/

This looks like a sculpture, but it's actually a natural rock formation. 18/

It's difficult to see because of reflected light, but there is an orange starfish in this tide pool. 19/

I do not know what either of these creatures are, but they're fascinating. 20/

Three different pieces of an ancient fossilized tree from about 45 million years ago. 21/

Another Eocene fossil - you can see a clam shell in the lower left, and the white flecks on other parts of the rock are fossilized pieces of starfish skeletons. 22/

We had to hike some very steep trails to get down to the various beaches we visited, and that combined with crossing difficult rocky terrain has my knees really aching today. 23/

I have more photos, but these were the highlights. I'll leave you with a picture of some of the 45 million year old Eocene fossils I got to collect and bring home! Thanks for reading about my adventure. ❤️ 24/24