Beaches near the Kalaloch Lodge in the Olympic National Park are numbered: Beaches 1 and 2 south of the lodge and Beaches 3 and 4 just north. Beaches 3 and 4 are known for their colorful tide pools that are full of sea life, while Beaches 1 and 2 offer sweeping ocean views.
Beach 4 is a popular stop for geologists due to its examples of bluffs made of ancient seafloor sand and pebbles dropped by glaciers. These layers of rock are known as turbitides, which form when submarine debris flows down steeep slopes, churining up huge clouds of sediment. As the sediment settles, the larger grains settle more rapidly than the finer, the different grains showing the in the layers of rocks of the beach. These turbitides were formed in the ocean and later uplifted to Beach 4.
We leave Beach 4 and travel a short way down the highway to Beach 3, following a moderately challenging path down to the beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment