Wednesday, November 30, 2011

High Surf Advisory for the Oregon Coast

 Video of Jen shows why you don't turn your back on the Ocean while looking for Agates, 
she was just lucky to be able to get up and walk away to safety!

Updates - Dec. 23, 2011 A high surf advisory continues this afternoon, evening and through 4pm Saturday afternoon.  From the above picture it’s extremely smart to not even get close to all that wave energy. There’s not a safe rock out there to watch from unless from a state park overlook where the waves can’t get to you. Sneaker waves are likely to be abundant. - This is NOT the time to be Beach combing On The Oregon Coast!  Wait for the advisory to be lifted, let the sea settle down for a day or two.  Here you can safely watch the stormy sea in the comfort of your warm home - watch for view #2 of our web cameras.

IMPACTS: IT IS DANGEROUS TO VENTURE NEAR THE WATER UNDER HIGH SURF CONDITIONS. PEOPLE HAVE DROWNED AFTER BEING SWEPT WAY FROM ROCKS AND JETTIES WHILE OBSERVING HIGH SURF…OR AFTER BEING KNOCKED DOWN BY LOGS AND OTHER DEBRIS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED THIS HIGH SURF ADVISORY

Watch those waves! (added 12-06-11)
"The Friday after Thanksgiving was gorgeous —mostly clear skies, warm temperatures and, for many, the desire to get out of the house after being cooped up the rainy and windy day before.

Unaware — or maybe just not concerned — that there was a high surf warning issued by the National Weather Service, people flocked to the South Jetty. We went down there with the idea of watching the waves from the car, but seeing so many people — I counted 80 at one point — drew us onto the beach as well.

People were jumping waves, playing in the beach foam and looking for agates. A huge log was being lifted by the surf, which, every seventh wave or so, was rushing up the beach, sending people scattering for dry sand.

I watched the log and the people standing directly behind it, one of them crouched down looking for agates, wondering if I should warn them of the danger.

What I need to know is what part of “high surf warning” do these people not understand? And yet I was there too. Seems I’ve also forgotten years ago when I first moved here being trapped under a huge log, losing my glasses, camera and shoes when a wave came over us in a cave near Face Rock.

Friday, I cringed every time the ocean came and moved the log, but thankfully, no one was trapped or caught by a sneaker wave.

But I urge all beach-goers to be aware of the tides, check the NWS before you go to the beach and use extreme caution. The ocean is beautiful and deceptively serene, yet potentially deadly."
Editorial note: As quoted from a Bandon Western World reader.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Lucky Beachcomber finds Enhydro agatized Snail...

Cheri a lucky local resident found this 1+" agatized snail with a water bubble a.k.a. as an enhydro agate along with her other treasures that you see her while beach combing here on the Central Oregon Coast.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Weather to bring on the beachcombing event...

Yesterdays weather of strong winds should have scoured our beaches to bring on some excellent beachcombing.  We are all looking forward to those great gravel bars we get her in the Newport area for those agates glistening among the gravel.  We have photos that need to be downloaded to show you some of the trophies our guest have come up with.  Will try and get them up shortly.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Welcome home to Oregon's Fossil Guy!

It is once again time for the beaches to uncover the gravel for beach combing on the Oregon coast and Guy is home on business for a short visit looking for spots to explore.  Hope the sands wash away soon for a successful hunt.  Happy hunting to all of our beachcombers out there.  We will add more as time permits.

Monday, September 19, 2011

FACETS Gem & Mineral Gallery has a new owner!

Our New Pocket Guide Oregon Under Foot
This has been a very busy last four months so I apologize for not keeping the blog updated lately.  There have been many things to add, I just haven't had an opportunity to get some spare time lately.

Still a locally owned and operated business with the help of a wonderful, knowledgeable staff,we hope to see you in the show room again.

We would all like to thank Richard, as he is happily retired to Post Falls, Idaho. We are all happy and the customers are once again happy!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Large Trophy Fancy Jasper Found

Recently lucky Ruby of Seattle, Washington found this 1¾ pound fancy jasp-agate while vacationing here on the Oregon coast while beachcombing in the north county.

Sorry I haven't had time to get this updated lately, there have been lots of changes here at the Gallery.  More to tell later as time permits... 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Minus tides this week...

After all of the winds that we have endured here on the coast over the last week, (the SW winds remove the sand to expose the gravel) we are all looking towards a great time at the beach.  Frank was in with an exceptionally nice agatized  enhydro Anadara clam, bloodstone, fancy agate, and a very nice specimen of Teredo wood (still showing the grain of the wood).  More photos to follow on this later.  

Yesterday Richard came home with a fossilized double vertebrae of something rather small but larger than a fish. I still have to get the photos off of Richards camera to share with you. More to come later...

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Extra Large Blue-black Agate found on the Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast Agate Club's President found these



Here we are showing two views of one beautiful fancy blue black fortification agate that Frank found recently.  The top shows it dry and the lower shot shows it wet to better see the color.  The fossil specimen lower right shows two fossils as they were found, cemented together.

We are in the final production of  our third pocket guide therefore I have a lots of photos to catch up on for this blog.  Frank was in recently with a very nice agatized clam, bloodstone, fancy agate, and a very nice specimen of teredo wood (still showing the grain of the wood).   I will have to get those photos up too, as time permits.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Agates abound on Oregon's Central Coast...

Sandy's agates and Scot's arrowhead..
These trophy agates were found by Sandy  beach combing here on the Oregon Coast earlier this season before the tsunami covered the beaches with sand.  These agates are all so beautiful,  the top one about 4-5",  as we call it "fang" on the far left is large and quite unusual as it is sard agate with sagenite and zeolites together.  The two white agates both have a cavity opening and feature a fortification pattern at the opening of each.

The lower right foreground is a 2" arrowhead of jasper.  More photos will follow later as I can shoot them.

Stay safe and have fun out there folks.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Spring break is well under way...

Quit a nice collection of fossil Mollusks!
Had a number of guest in the showroom yesterday, the North American Research group dropped by, a few club members from the Portland gem clubs and all. These wonderful fossils were all found here in the Newport area.  Nice collection there John.

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Georgie's with a wonderful view of the beach. Great to see so many folks out having a great evening as the tide was going out, strolling with their dogs, flying kites... It almost looked like a summer evening in southern California on the beach!

The SOLV Spring Oregon Beach Cleanup is on Saturday, March 26th! Find out more about this Oregon tradition and sign up to volunteer here. Is the great Oregon Beach Cleanup at any one of over 40 beach sites from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. to clear the entire Oregon coast of debris.

Everyone be safe and have a great time here on the central Oregon Coast.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

No Tsunami Watch, Warning, or Advisory is in effect...


Time lapse video of tsunami waves in Port Orford, Oregon.
NOAA has downgraded the tsunami warning to an advisory. An Advisory indicates that an area is either outside the current warning regions or that the tsunami poses no danger to that area. Refer to NOAA's National Weather Service website at http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ for continued updates. 
Please be careful and be safe out there while beachcombing here on the Oregon Coast.  Always remember to never turn your back on the ocean! 
Rescuers fight ferocious tide to save woman swept into the tsunami surf
The Oregonian story By Laura Gunderson, David Stabler
 
 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Agate Hunting on the Oregon Coast, Agates are being found daily...

Right now, agates are becoming more plentiful daily at numerous beaches around Newport here on  the Oregon coast, just remember to look for the rocky gravel beds, during winter and the early spring months.  I will add photos as time permits later.  Happy hunting and stay safe out there!  Just take a look at some of the previous photos below.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Sneaker wave danger is more than just water

A personal account of the dangers of sneaker waves, by Robert Smith Oregon State Parks Management

"For over 20 years we have enjoyed the Oregon coast. We have walked the beaches and scurried away from larger waves as they mysteriously climbed the beach. One of our favorite Oregon beach activities is to get out of the constant wind by sitting on the south side of the jetty at Winchester Bay. High up the beach with the warm sunshine beaming down and the lulling roar of the ocean makes it is easy to drift off into a wonderful, peaceful nap.

NOT a good choice.

Even though we were a good 20 yards or more from the ocean we were awakened to find ourselves engulfed in a sneaker wave. Sneaker wave.... well it would better to call it a mini tsunami. It is a small, surging wall of water that carries a huge concentration of sand. Your clothes are instantly saturated with water and sand that increases your weight exponentially - way beyond your level of strength. You are engulfed in a surge mixture of water and sand like liquid cement so that your attempts to free yourself are somewhat futile as it rushes back to the ocean.

What saved us? The fact that this sneaker wave or little tsunami was just one wave and small enough the we could stand up, grab the jetty rocks and stay on the beach. An illustration of the weight gain is that the extra large beach towels we were sitting on seemed to weigh about 30 to 40 pounds each after the wave hit. So that coat you wear to shield yourself from the wind can become a weighted anchor or your death shroud if you are engulfed in a sneaker wave.

Moral of the story: Better to nap in the car or have someone serve as a lookout... and yes, like they say, never turn your back or close your eyes on the ocean."

Four inches of water can lift a five ton log...  Stay CLEAR OF LOGS

Editors Note: Via - Coastal Waves 2/11

Large Smiling Sard Agate found.

Agate collector Nancy, of Sacramento was beachcombing here on the Oregon Coast when she found this beautiful  smiling 3" sard agate weighing at just under ½ pound with fortification banding surrounding a crystalline pocket.   Congratulations Nancy on another wonderful find.

Oregon's Fossil Guy & Beachcombing in the Snow at Newport

Scott's trophy's a large agate weighing in at almost a pound and the fancy jasper was around a half pound.  The smaller images were pictured wet to better see their beautiful colors.
Scott beach combing in the snow
Greeted by winter snow & hail storms that rivaled the Rockies...Our "Oregon Fossil Guy" hit the beaches early Thursday with  our friend Scott & both were awarded excellent results on the rock/fossil gathering sides.  Below are a just a few of Guy's trophies: the large one at the top is a sizable 3" piece of agatized wood  weighing over a ¼ pound.  The lower left piece is a nice piece of myrtle wood and the remaining piece is a very nicely preserved fossil clam shell.
Photo was taken wet to better show the colors.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Beautiful wood found on the Oregon Coast


It is beautiful, sunny and bright today in Newport for a 3 day weekend at the coast.  These beautiful specimens of wood were found recently by two different fellows beach combing here on the Central Oregon Coast.  Ken  found the beautiful agatized wood specimen.  The Myrtle wood was found by Nathan of Neotsu  and it weighs over 14lbs.  and just over 12" across. 

Friday, February 18, 2011

Congratulations Ben on your Crystal lined fossil!

Ben of Lincoln City found this fancy jasper while beach combing on the Oregon coast: 8" tall weighing in at just about 7½ lb and it contains a fossil clam shell lined with beautiful quartz crystals .  

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Beach Combing at Newport...

A fully agatized gastropod (snail like) shell on the left
and an usual agate to the left.
Don't let yourself or your loved ones be an other causality of the dreaded sneaker waves!  Please be careful when you are on the beach by staying off the rocky jettys, ledges,  or logs, and never turn your back on the water. Always know which way  to go, to get off the beach and  away from this fast moving water.  This combination of cold water, sharp rocks and fast moving water is a deadly combination. 

On a happier note...Frank, the president of the Oregon Coast Agate Club was out beach combing and found this fossil, of possibly a seal or otter.  He also found a couple of nicely formed agates to share with you.

The minus tides have been quite helpful...

The minus tides have been quite helpful to our guest and Michael of Portland just found this fossilized Radius/Ulna in a tide pool of a large creature possibly an extinct large mammal the Desmostlus something like a marine hippopotamus or sea cow.

Here is a size able fancy agate another one of our guest found this week.   Two really nice finds for our guest beachcombing on the Central Oregon Coast.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Beautiful black agate found...

This beauty was brought in recently 5 inches long and it weighs almost a pound.  Local beachcomber Kathie found this agate with beautiful red jasper highlights and it is now polished.  Nice find Kathie!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Newport is beautiful this week...


Winter has blessed us once again with better weather than summer!  No wind, sunny and bright a great time for beach combing on the Oregon Coast.  The rates are low and less traffic to contend with, what more could you ask for?  Yes there are agates being found again, just the beaches are shifting and the gravel has been spotty.  I have been busy working on not one but two books to be published in the next month or so.  Just no time for us to participate in beachcombing or to get the photos up on the blog.

Editors notes: Video from News Lincoln County

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dee's Trophy Artifact

This is quite a beachcombers trophy.  Dee of Wyoming was just in with this spectacular museum quality artifact which is a 5¾" harpoon point carved  of bone or antler. She found it washed up on the shore among all of the the flotsam and jetsam.  I first thought it appeared to be  an Indian fish hook. Click on the image to get a better close up.

Editors notes: Bone Harpoon Heads, Late Old Stone Age




Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Years eve is showing great finds at Newport!

Entered December 31, 2010...I just got this out of the camera. Frank found this earlier and brought in one the nicest tube agates we have seen in many years.  These are not commonly found here at the coast but this is a beauty.  The photos were back lit to better see the patterns that run from the back of the stone clear through to the front.  Well done Frank, for a wrap up to the year 2010.

News from the Oregon Coast...

Entered December 10, 2010... It is beginning to look a lot like beachcombing season again!  Frank was just in yesterday with a few trophies he wanted to share with everyone.  He found what we all believe could be a fossilized sea turtle scull, (yet to get this photo ) a very well defined fossilized Crepidula praerupta shell.  Frank has also been very busy educating our upcoming pebble pups by doing geological presentations for classes in our Lincoln County School District. Good job Frank!

The Oregon Coast Agate Club Christmas party was last night, great food and a fun gift exchange was had by all in attendance.  We have elected new leadership and hope to see the club continue to grow.  Visitors are always welcome to join us for the meetings held the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm in the Central Lincoln P.U.D.(across the Hwy from Safeway) meeting room in Newport.  The annual show will be held June 18 & 19 at the Yaquina View School, multi-purpose room.

This photo to the right was found earlier last spring by  Roscoe. & Billy of Tillamook  What is it?  Looks like a crepidula...but developed the wrong direction.