Sunset Bay Revisited

A few weeks back I posted a panoramic image of Oregon’s Sunset Bay that I had stitched together from several separate images. I returned to Sunset Bay after having learned the hard way that I needed really good boots in order to be able to photograph on the coast. Boots on, I walked steadfastly towards the surf, fascinated by the patterns that the foam made on the surface of the water.

Sunset Bay © Howard Grill

Interestingly, there is really just a small bit of foam here compared to other places I have seen on the Oregon Coast. There are areas where the foam seems to turn a whole portion of the sea white as milk, like in this turbulent area called Devil’s Churn (video taken with my iPhone). And, yes, you do have to be extremely careful and aware of your surroundings in places like this, since one unanticipated large wave could sweep you in. You learn to never turn your back to the ocean.

But what makes all this milky foam? It turns out that it is quite a healthy phenomena and not at all related to pollution. The foam is caused by the cytoplasm and exoskeletons of dead phytoplankton, tiny one celled organisms that are pretty much at the bottom of the oceanic food chain. Want to learn more? Check out this article called “What Is Sea Foam”?

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