Oregon Coast: Highest Tides of the Year Are Upon Us

Ready? The last round of "King Tides" is January 2-4

Yaquina Jetty. Taken 11/16/16 by Keith Nelson. Winner of the 16/17 People’s Choice Award for Best King Tides Photo.

(NEHALEM, Ore.) - Get your cameras ready! Oregonians have a great opportunity to capture the last round of king tides, the highest high tides of the year, on January 2-4, 2018.

Residents and visitors to Oregon’s coast are invited to capture these high water events in photos. The Oregon King Tides Photo Project is part of a worldwide initiative; anyone with a camera can help document the extent of the extreme high tides, and help us catch a glimpse of what sea level rise will look like in our region.

Everyone is welcome to participate, just pick a place, snap a photo and share it online.

The King Tide Project is sponsored by the Oregon Coastal Management Program, the CoastWatch Program of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, the Oregon Chapters of Surfrider Foundation, and the Haystack Rock Awareness Program.

These groups have been spearheading the king tides photo project in Oregon since the winter of 2010/2011.

The term ‘king tide’ describes a high tide event when the sun, moon, and earth are in alignment, causing greater than usual gravitational pull on the tides. When king tides occur during intense rain or storm events, the water level rise can cause flooding, erosion, and other impacts to infrastructure and property.

King Tide events give us the opportunity to peek into the future and see what the impacts of sea level rise could look like in our coastal communities. Even a small increase in sea level could escalate the impacts of winter storms along the Oregon coast, intensify chronic hazards like erosion and flooding, and reduce the width of the public beach.

Photographing king tides is an effective way to help coastal communities identify areas prone to flooding, expose potential impacts of sea level rise, and start planning for the future.

Helpful king tide photos show water levels adjacent to a fixed feature like a piling, seawall or bridge abutment. Including fixed features allows actual water levels to be documented and tracked over time. Good photos also must include the location, the date and time of the photo, and the viewer’s direction for each picture.

Two photos taken from the same spot, one during the king tide and the other at a typical high tide are also very effective in highlighting these high water events.

Find tide tables for your area and instructions for how to take and upload photos on the King Tides website: www.oregonkingtides.net.

Upcoming Events:

• Tuesday, January 2, 2018 at 11am
  King Tides Photo Meet-Up
  River Roasters Coffee, Florence OR
• Thursday, January 4, 2018 at 12pm
  King Tides Photo Meet-Up
  Seaworthy Coffee and Gifts, Netarts OR
• Sunday, January 14, 2018 at 5pm
  End-of-Season Wrap-Up Party, North Coast
  Public Coast Brewing, Cannon Beach OR
• Friday, January 19, 2018 at 5:30pm
  End-of-Season Wrap-Up Party, Central Coast
  Rogue Brewery, Newport OR
• Monday, February 5, 2018 at 6pm
  End-of-Season Wrap-Up Party, South Coast
  7 Devils Brewing, Coos Bay OR
  

These events are free and open to all. There will be guest speakers at each of the wrap-up events to discuss current research related to climate change on the Oregon coast.

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/orkingtide/

For more information about the project, contact Bri Goodwin, Surfrider Foundation’s Oregon Field Manager, (541) 655-0236, bgoodwin@surfrider.org; or Fawn Custer, CoastWatch Volunteer Coordinator, at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.

Source: The Surfrider Foundation