Otter Rock is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Lincoln County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. It is located on

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

along the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

. Otter Rock is 5.4 miles south of Depoe Bay and 8 miles north of

Newport, Oregon Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868. Newport was named for Newport, Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

. Otter Rock takes its name from a rock located about offshore and north of Yaquina Head where

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...

s formerly lived. There are various activities to do around Otter Rock throughout the year such as surfing, wine tasting,

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

, tide pool exploring, and beach combing. The Devils Punch Bowl State Natural Area is located in Otter Rock. As of 2019 the population of Otter Rock is approximately 225, up from 193 occupants in 2010.

Climate

The

Koppen Climate Classification Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * Erwin Koppen (1929–1990), German literary scholar * Luise Koppen (1855–1922), German author * Wladimir Köppen (1846� ...

system classifies Otter Rock as having a "dry-summer subtropical" climate, which is also referred to as "Mediterranean." The subtype known for this climate is "csb" or "dry-summer subtropical." The average temperature at Otter Rock is . On average the warmest month of the year is August and the coldest is January. The average annual precipitation is along with of snow. The average number of sunny days Otter Rock receives is 157 and the average number of days with precipitation is 110.

Otter Rock Marine Reserve

Otter Rock Marine Reserve is currently the smallest marine reserve along the Oregon coast. It is approximately 1.2 square miles located from Otter Rock down to Beverly State Beach. Near the north end of the reserve, where the town of Otter Rock is located, are

tide pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

s. Monitoring began in 2010 and harvest restrictions were put in place in 2012. A variety of seaweed,

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

, sea stars, fish, seals,

sea anemones Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates of the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, ...

octopuses An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

, and chitons live here. Currently, scientists from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), and

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

conduct studies and survey juvenile fish settlement in the area.

References

External links

Historic photos of Otter Rock from Salem Public LibraryDevil's Punch Bowl State Natural Area
from

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks. In addition, it has pro ...

Oregon Coast Unincorporated communities in Lincoln County, Oregon 1913 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon Populated coastal places in Oregon {{LincolnCountyOR-geo-stub