Tidal pools plus#

Always be aware of your surroundings when visiting the intertidal area and never turn your back on the ocean. Quietly watching a pool or gently moving seaweed aside will reveal organisms and behavior that would otherwise go unnoticed. Slow down, look closely and watch carefully to observe the sea life in its home. Many tidepools have plenty of viewing opportunities at the sand-rock interface, where standing on rock can be avoided almost entirely. Avoid walking on rocks covered with barnacles for your safety and to avoid damaging the fragile ecosystem. To avoid this, walk only on sand or bare rock and watch your step. When visiting the intertidal area, be aware that the creatures and environment are easily damaged. Check out the optimal time on the current NOAA tide prediction tide charts. Minus tides in Cannon Beach begin in spring and the lowest minus tides occur in summer.

Tidal pools plus#

Tides of 0.0 feet and lower (minus tides) are best for tidepool viewing, but when the ocean is calm many intertidal areas can be observed even at plus one or two-foot tides. Haystack Rock offers the easiest access to the intertidal area and tidepools, but there are also plenty of other nearby areas with great tidepools and fewer crowds.В For optimum viewing, it is best to be in the intertidal area one hour before daily low tides. These are just a few of the coastal marine creatures that you may discover in the tidepools of Cannon Beach. Look carefully and you may find varieties of crabs, fish, snails, limpets, coral, sponge and colorful sea slugs known as nudibranchs. Green anemones lay open like flowers at the bottom of pools. Bright sea stars in a variety of colors cling tightly to rocks. As the tide recedes, a unique and diverse environment is revealed in intertidal areas and tidepools. You can carefully lift rocks to spot small creatures hiding beneath, but be sure to gently replace the rocks where you found them.Many colorful and strange creatures live where Cannon BeachвЂ™s rocky shorelines and beaches meet the sea. Low tide exposes the majority of the rocks. The sandy substrate means that itвЂ™s harder to spot intertidal creatures here, but a rocky wall that juts out at the north end of the beach is a great place to view barnacles, mussels, and sea stars if youвЂ™re lucky. This naturally sandy beach is located at Ferguson Point in Stanley Park, with lovely views of English Bay. You can also see sea stars and crabs right from the pier as low tide exposes tide pools over a long stretch of the beach. ItвЂ™s not uncommon to see harbour seals swimming through the local marina. The bay is quiet and serene, making it a perfect place to enjoy nature and spot wildlife. Kayak rentals are available at the beach, opening up a world of exploration along the rocky shorelines around the bay and up the Indian Arm. The view of the mountainous Burrard Inlet from the rocky beach at Deep Cove park is considered a вЂњlocal secretвЂќ on the North Shore. The surrounding water is a rock-fish protection area, but near the bluffs, there is a chance to check out some large, deep tide pools with sea stars, sculpins, crabs and anemones. There are plenty of trails to explore with unique look-outs at the end of each one. Large boulders surround the coastline making it the perfect spot for sunbathing while taking in spectacular views. Also located in West Vancouver, Lighthouse Park offers strolls through an old-growth coastal forest rich in biodiversity.