Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, approximately 6 mi (10 km) long and 2 mi (3 km) wide, on the northwest coast of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. It is located just north of

Cape Meares Cape Meares is a small headland on the Pacific coast in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The cape forms a high steep bluff on the south end of Tillamook Bay, approximately five miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Tillamo ...

in western Tillamook County approximately 75 mi (120 km) west of Portland.

Description and history

The bay is protected from the open ocean by shoals and a 3 mi (5 km) sandbar called the Bayocean Peninsula. It is surrounded closely by the Coastal Range except at its southeast end, where the town of

Tillamook Tillamook may refer to: Places: * Tillamook County, Oregon, United States * Tillamook, Oregon, a city, the seat of Tillamook County * Tillamook River, United States * Tillamook Bay, a bay in the northwestern part of Oregon * Tillamook Head, a natu ...

sits near the mouths of the Kilchis, Wilson, Trask and

rivers, which flow quickly down from the surrounding timber-producing regions of the Coastal Range to converge at the bay. The short Miami River enters the north end of the bay. The small fishing village of

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

sits near the cliffs opening of the bay in the ocean. The rivers that feed the bay are known for their prolific

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...

and

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

runs. The mixing of freshwater from the rivers with the ocean's saltwater makes the bay an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

. The name "Tillamook" is

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

word meaning "Land of Many Waters", probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay. At the time of the arrival of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

ans, the area along the coast was inhabited by the

and other related Coast Salish tribes. Historians believe they entered the area around the year 1400 and Lewis and Clark estimated the population south of the Columbia River along the coast at approximately 2,200. The first American at Tillamook Bay was Captain Robert Gray who in August, 1788 arrived and explored the surrounding area. He was the first known American to set foot on Oregon shore. Gray at first thought he had landed at the Columbia river, but after discovering his mistake and a hostile encounter with the local natives, where one of Gray's crew and several natives were killed, he left the area after one week's stay. The bay was settled in 1848 by Elbridge Trask, who journeyed overland to the bay, and subsequent trials of early settlement were described in the 1960 historical novel ''Trask'' by Don Berry. The novel and two sequels are collectively known as the "Trask novels." In 1911 an Oregon Municipal corporation called the Port of Bayocean was formed by a special election to manage land at the entrance to the bay. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

operated

blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hy ...

patrol station near the bay at Naval Air Station Tillamook. The station was decommissioned in 1948. In 1953 the Port of Bayocean acquired the former station and began operating it as the Port of Tillamook Bay. A 5.5 mi (9 km) railroad spur, originally built by the Navy, connects the coastal communities along the bay to the Southern Pacific Railroad at Tillamook. In 2017, a touring company called Oregon Coast Railriders makes use of 6 miles of The Port of Tillamook Bay Rail Road (originally known as the Pacific Railway), where visitors peddle a multi-person cycle-transport that runs on the rails. .The bay is within easy driving distance of Portland and is one of the most popular gateways to 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 ...

. Planning and slow and steady progress are underway with Th
Salmonberry Trail
which intends to eventually connect four coastal towns, with passage through the Coastal Mountain Range to Banks, OR; hiking, biking, and horseriding would be possible on this route. The town of Tillamook is the location of the famous

Tillamook Cheese Factory The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is a dairy cooperative headquartered in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The association manufactures and sells dairy products under the "Tillamook" brand name. Its main facility is the ...

A motor lifeboat braving heavy waves off Tillamook Bay, Oregon

The stone breakwater at the mouth of Tillamook Bay is only 400 meters wide. During heavy weather the waves off the harbor entrance can be high, making entering the harbor dangerous. During the July 4th weekend of 1980 Richard Dixon, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

coxswain of a 44-foot Motor Lifeboat, led two daring rescues off the Tillamook Bay breakwater, for which he was awarded two

Coast Guard Medal The Coast Guard Medal is a decoration of the United States military that is awarded to any service member who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Coast Guard, distinguishes themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict with ...

References

External links

Terraserver: Tillamook Bay

Port of Tillamook Bay
{{Coord, 45.525472, -123.919258, type:city_region:US, format=dms, display=title Bays of Oregon Oregon Coast Estuaries of Oregon Bodies of water of Tillamook County, Oregon

Description and history

See also

References

External links