Low Tide at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

Photographer: Stu WitmerSummary Author: Stu Witmer

At the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, melting glaciers left thick deposits of sand and gravel along this shoreline. Persistent winds and a longshore current spread the sediment east along the coast. Where the land is curved, the current’s momentum takes water straight ahead, rather than following the shape of the coast, thus creating a spit, home to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1915.    Currently, the Dungeness Spit is 5 miles (8 km) long and grows about 13 ft (4.4m) per year. In this photo, the spit connects with the shore outside the view to the left and stretches to the right just below the distant mountains on the horizon. The Dungeness Lighthouse can be seen as three tiny specks.

Between the spit and the coast, fresh and saltwater lagoons and mudflats form in the protected recesses of the beaches. The saltwater tides leave little vegetation other than algae. Mollusks and marine worms thrive in the silty areas making the mudflats attractive to ducks and shorebirds.

Eelgrass in the deeper waters is a perfect environment for salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead, and Dungeness crab. Common saltwater fish on the Refuge include starry flounder, English sole, sculpins, and surf smelt. The tide flats are rich in a variety of clams.

 

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge Coordinates: 48.1629, -123.1681

Related Links:Dungeness Spit BeachDungeness Spit