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...

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.

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.

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.

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

 

 

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.

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