One of my favorite things about the state of Oregon is the coast. I love the beach and the Oregon coast has plenty of beaches! In fact, the WHOLE of the Oregon coast is designated public lands. From our border with California to our northern border at the Columbia River, all 362 miles of coastline is designated as public land thanks to The Oregon Beach Bill (House Bill 1601, 1967).
The bill established public ownership of land along the Oregon Coast from the water of the Pacific up to sixteen vertical feet above the low tide mark. It says that all "wet sand" within sixteen vertical feet of the low tide line belongs to the state of Oregon. This is amazing and a wonderful bit of forward-thinking by our most famous governor, Tom McCall (1913-1983).
Let's take a look at some Giant Green Sea Anemone we recently saw on a trip to the coast...
These anemones are found on rocks near the shore just under the water. their bodies are essentially tubes with numerous tentacles surrounding a disk-like mouth in the center. the tentacles are able to grab and hold small marine life such as sea urchins, fish, and crabs. The tentacles deliver a sting that immobilizes the prey as it is drawn to the mouth in the center.
Being found on rocks near the shore these anemones can also be found exposed on the rocks when the tide is out, like this...
Their bodies retain water so they can survive when not submerged. They also kind of close up to conserve the water they are holding. These photos were taken on a tide pooling trip we took to the coast a couple of years ago. I am showing them now for green Thursday because we are going back to the coast for more tide pool exploring in a few weeks and I am SO excited.
Thanks for stopping by.