Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area encompasses a belt of dunes on the Pacific coast in the US state of Oregon . The National Recreation Area is 130 square kilometers.
A 50-kilometer-long dune area stretches along the Pacific coast between Coos Bay and Florence , the highest peaks of which are 150 meters. The dunes are part of the Siuslaw National Forest and are managed by the United States Forest Service .
nature
This unique stretch of Oregon coast does not consist of volcanic rock, but of prehistoric sand formed by waves and wind. The sand comes from the Oregon Coast Range , whose sedimentary rock was unfolded 12 million years ago. The rock was worn away by rain and rivers and, ground into sand, washed into the sea. The strong ocean currents, which are directed northward in winter and southward in summer, keep the deposits from the rivers close to the coast. The tides and waves wash the sand onto the beaches. The steeply sloping coastline of Oregon and the Coast Range towering behind it prevent the sand from being blown inland. Between Heceta Head and Cape Arago , however, the Coos Bay Dune Sheet , a low, slowly rising rock terrace, extends . On the coast of Oregon, northern and northeastern winds prevail at up to 25 km / h in summer, while storms and southern and southwestern winds blow the sand further into the country in winter. Due to the diversion and turbulence of the surrounding mountains, the wind in the Oregon Dunes area comes from different directions and thus forms different dunes. Most of the dunes are longitudinal dunes . The seasonally changing winds have created long, narrow dunes. Floods caused by heavy rainfall in winter lead to swampy terrain in winter, where the sand is soaked with water and eventually becomes flowing quicksand .
Biologists count over 400 different plant species in the dune belt. 426 animal species live in the dunes, including many songbirds. More species of birds live in the dunes than in the forests of Oregon.
tourism
The National Recreation Area visitor center is located in Reedsport . There are numerous campsites along the coast. Especially in the southern area of the National Recreation Area, the dunes are open to tourist use and can be explored on foot, but can also be driven on with dune buggies, quads or motocross bikes .
Danger
In addition to the endangerment caused by intensive tourist use, the dunes are threatened by beach grass. This was introduced by the first white settlers in the 19th century to stop the silting up of the adjacent areas. In the meantime, ecologists are fighting the beach grass, otherwise there is a risk that the Oregon Dunes could be completely covered with plants by 2150.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ellen Morris, John E. Allan: Hiking Oregon's geology. Mountaineers Books, 2004. ISBN 978-0898868470 , p. 82
- ↑ Nature and Science: Geology of the Dunes. Retrieved June 25, 2011 .
- ↑ John R. Packham, Arthur John Willis: Ecology of dunes, salt marsh and shingle. London: Chapman & Hall, 1997, ISBN 978-0412579806 , p. 201
Coordinates: 43 ° 43 '27 " N , 124 ° 10' 39" W.