Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department , officially known 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...

.

The Legend

Face Rock gets its name from the monolith rock formation located in the ocean just off the beach. Legend tells of the Indian Princess, Ewauua, who had come with her father, Chief Siskiyou, to visit the tribes on the coast. Dignitaries from other tribes came as well and a great potlatch ensued. Ewauua had brought her dog, Komax, with her, along a basket with her cat and kittens. The local tribesmen warned everyone about Seatka, the evil spirit in the ocean, but Ewauua was not afraid. She was from the mountains and had never seen the ocean before. It was where the clouds were made, and it was beautiful to her. The potlatch lasted late into the night, and soon everyone was asleep. But Ewauua was not tired. She walked down to the beach with Komax and the basket of cats and waded in the ocean. The cool water on her feet made her laugh, and she wandered farther into the surf. Komax, on the beach, began to bark, warning her that she had gone too far, but Ewauua could not hear him. As she began to swim and evil feeling came over her. Suddenly a powerful hand grabbed her. Komax leaped into the ocean to rescue his mistress. Upon reaching her, he bit the monster that held her fast. Seatka roared and tossed Komax and the cats out to sea. Seatka held fast to Ewauua, forcing her to look in his eyes where his power lie, but she would not. Komax’s barking awakened the camp. They ran down to the beach where they saw Komax, howling for his mistress, the cat and kittens, Seatka trying to get Ewauua to look at him, and Ewauua, gazing up at the clouds. All had been turned to stone.