Tillamook Bay
Encyclopedia
Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean
, approximately 6 mi (10 km) long and 2 mi (3 km) wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state
of Oregon
. It is located just north of Cape Meares
in western Tillamook County
approximately 75 mi (120 km) west of Portland
.
except at its southeast end, where the town of Tillamook
sits near the mouths of the Kilchis
, Wilson
, Trask
and Tillamook
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
sits near the cliffs opening of the bay in the ocean. The rivers that feed the bay are known for their prolific steelhead
and salmon
runs. The mixing of freshwater from the rivers with the ocean's saltwater makes the bay an estuary
.
The name "Tillamook" is Coast Salish
word meaning "Land of Many Waters", probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay. At the time of the arrival of Europe
ans, the area along the coast was inhabited by the Tillamook
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 Ocean Bay was formed by a special election to manage land at the entrance to the bay. During World War II
, the United States Navy
operated blimp
patrol station in the bay at Naval Air Station Tillamook
. The station was decommissioned in 1948. In 1953 the Port of Ocean Bay 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. The bay is within easy driving distance of Portland and is one of the most popular gateways to the Oregon Coast
. The town of Tillamook is the location of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory
.
The breakwater at the ocean entrance to the Bay, the North Jetty, is undergoing a $13 million repair mid-2010, part of the 2009 U.S. economic stimulus. Rocks weighing from 25 to 50 ST (22,679.6 to 45,359.2 kg) are trucked from Mount Vernon, Washington or near Rainier, Oregon.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, approximately 6 mi (10 km) long and 2 mi (3 km) wide, on the northwest coast of 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...
. It is located just north of Cape Meares
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 northwest of the city of Tillamook...
in western Tillamook County
Tillamook County, Oregon
Tillamook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Tillamook, a Native American tribe who were living in the area in the early 19th century at the time of European American settlement. In 2010, the county's population was 25,250...
approximately 75 mi (120 km) west of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
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 RangeOregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
except at its southeast end, where the town of Tillamook
Tillamook, Oregon
The city of Tillamook is the county seat of Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the southeast end of Tillamook Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The population was 4,352 at the 2000 census...
sits near the mouths of the Kilchis
Kilchis River
The Kilchis River is a stream, about long, near the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of about in the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland....
, Wilson
Wilson River (Oregon)
The Wilson River is a stream, about long, that flows from the Northern Oregon Coast Range to Tillamook Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of its Devil's Lake Fork and its South Fork, it runs generally west through the Tillamook State Forest to its mouth near the city of...
, Trask
Trask River
The Trask River is in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland into Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean...
and Tillamook
Tillamook River
The Tillamook River is a stream, about long, near the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains an oceanside valley in the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland and empties into the Pacific Ocean via Tillamook Bay...
rivers, which flow quickly down from the surrounding timber-producing regions of the Coastal Range to converge at the bay. The short Miami River
Miami River (Oregon)
The Miami River is a stream, approximately long, on the coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timbered region of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland, into Pacific Ocean....
enters the north end of the bay. The small fishing village of Garibaldi
Garibaldi, Oregon
Garibaldi is a city in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The population was 895 in 2007 according to Portland State University.-History:...
sits near the cliffs opening of the bay in the ocean. The rivers that feed the bay are known for their prolific steelhead
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
runs. The mixing of freshwater from the rivers with the ocean's saltwater makes the bay an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
.
The name "Tillamook" is Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
word meaning "Land of Many Waters", probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay. At the time of the arrival of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans, the area along the coast was inhabited by the Tillamook
Tillamook (tribe)
The Nehalem or Tillamook are a Native American tribe from Oregon of the Salish linguistic group. The name "Tillamook" is a Chinook term meaning "people of Nekelim " and is also spelled Calamox, Gillamooks and Killamook....
and other related Coast Salish tribes. Historians believe they entered the area around the year 1400 and Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
estimated the population south of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
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
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, 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
Elbridge Trask
Elbridge Trask was an American fur trapper and mountain man in the Oregon Country. Immortalized by a series of modern historical novels by Don Berry, he is best known as an early white settler along Tillamook Bay on the coast of the U.S. state of Oregon.-Biography:He was born in Beverly,...
, who journeyed overland to the bay, and subsequent trials of early settlement were described in the 1960 historical novel Trask by Don Berry
Don Berry (author)
Don Berry was an American artist and author best known for his historical novels about early settlers in the Oregon Country.He was born in Minnesota but moved to Oregon as a young man and came to think of himself as a native of that state. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon...
. The novel and two sequels are collectively known as the "Trask novels."
In 1911 an Oregon Municipal corporation called the Port of Ocean Bay was formed by a special election to manage land at the entrance to the bay. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
operated blimp
Blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
patrol station in the bay at Naval Air Station Tillamook
Naval Air Station Tillamook
Naval Air Station Tillamook, located just south of Tillamook, Oregon, was a U.S. Naval Air Station during World War II. It was used primarily to house blimps. It was commissioned in 1942 and decommissioned in 1948. It includes US Naval Air Station Dirigible Hangar B, listed on the U.S...
. The station was decommissioned in 1948. In 1953 the Port of Ocean Bay 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
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
at Tillamook. The bay is within easy driving distance of Portland and is one of the most popular gateways to the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
. The town of Tillamook is the location of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory
Tillamook County Creamery Association
The Tillamook County Creamery Association is a dairy co-operative headquartered in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The association's main facility is the Tillamook Cheese Factory located two miles north of the city of Tillamook on U.S. Route 101.The Tillamook factory hosts over a million...
.
The breakwater at the ocean entrance to the Bay, the North Jetty, is undergoing a $13 million repair mid-2010, part of the 2009 U.S. economic stimulus. Rocks weighing from 25 to 50 ST (22,679.6 to 45,359.2 kg) are trucked from Mount Vernon, Washington or near Rainier, Oregon.