The Siletz Reef is a large and shallow

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

, just offshore the central coast of Oregon. It runs about mile offshore from a southern boundary off Depoe Bay, though some references have it going as far south as

Cape Perpetua Cape Perpetua is a large forested headland projecting into the Pacific Ocean on the central Oregon Coast in Lincoln County, Oregon. The land is managed by the United States Forest Service as part of the Siuslaw National Forest. Location ...

to a northern boundary off

Lincoln City, Oregon Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County on the Oregon Coast of the United States, between Tillamook to the north and Newport to the south. It is named after the county, which was named in honor of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The pop ...

, though a northern boundary of Cascade Head is in some references. The reef is rocky and is believed to comprise a few fairly large continuous rock structures and a wide expanse of smaller structures. It has been written as about offshore from

. The reef is often fished, and many

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. ...

and

sightseeing Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity o ...

charter vessels operate near the reef.

Common species in the reef

Black rockfish comprise up 23% of the total fish. Blue rockfish, kelp greenling and juvenile rockfish were next at 14%.

Lingcod The lingcod or ling cod (''Ophiodon elongatus'') is a fish of the greenling family Hexagrammidae. Despite its name, the lingcod is neither a cod nor a ling. It is also known as the buffalo cod, cultus cod, or Buckethead. It is the only extant me ...

and Canary rockfish and each made up roughly 9%, with yellowtail rockfish at 3%. Species occurring only rarely or less than 3% of the total were China rockfish, copper rockfish,

yelloweye rockfish The yelloweye rockfish (''Sebastes ruberrimus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the Family (biology), family Scorpaenidae and one of the biggest members of the genus ''Sebaste ...

, quillback rockfish, skates, sculpins,

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...

and

ratfish Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to Opisthoproctidae and Siganidae, r ...

Topography

Siletz Reef has highly variable

bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors ('' seabed topography''), river floors, or lake floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of wate ...

and variable underwater

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

. Relief in the northern Siletz Reef can be quite dramatic. Massive structures, up to vertical to several across are found there. These are covered with the

anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all regions except Australia, New Zealand, and ...

'' Metridium giganteum'' which seem abundant in a shallow area locals known as "Tacklebuster Reef." Relatively small patches off

have both high density and high diversity of fish.

References

Reefs of the United States Oregon Coast Undersea banks of the Pacific Ocean {{Oregon-geo-stub

Common species in the reef

Topography

See also

References