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Common bulging, knotty swellings in coastal Sitka spruce. Inspiring coastline descends abruptly to the sand, June 25. (The Cascadia fault under the Pacific Ocean could create a tsunami from Alaska to California that would carry more clout than Hurricane Katrina clobbering the Gulf in 2005.) A beautiful but invasive species, the bull (or, spear) thistle, Cirsium vulgare, an introduced biennial (Sunflower family). Massive sun-bleached log jam meets sandy colluvial sediment right on the gorgeous rocky-cliff coastline.

The Park protects the largest old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. Ancient trees took root 200-1000 years ago. Coastal woody debris:  driftwood dominating the beaches along Washington's shoreline bluffs plays an important role in the ecology of the area. Mighty coastal rivers carry old-growth logs out to sea; storms and high tides strand the logs—they buffer erosion and provide shelter for animals, and floating logs create space for new organisms to settle.

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