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Minus Tide: Bandon Beach, Oregon
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Minus tides are extremely low tides, tides that expose areas which are normally submerged even during a normal low tide. Surfers and tide poolers watch for minus tides; photographers should too.
This minus tide found us on Bandon Beach in the early morning of what would be a beautiful day. (Regular readers may recall that that I’ve written about Bandon Beach several times before. The myriad of sea stacks offshore make this my favorite beach on the Oregon coast.) The light fog that moved onshore during the night had not yet burned off, imparting a soft ethereal look to the landscape. And this minus tide occurred early enough in the morning that the beach was largely deserted and wiped free of tracks by the extreme high tide that always accompanies a minus tide.
Minus tides coincide with a full moon or a new moon so if you would like to plan a trip to your favorite beach during a minus tide consult a lunar calendar and then the appropriate tide table to determine when you need to arrive. I would suggest arriving early—as the tide is going out—to maximize the time available for exploration. Finally, remember that not all minus tides occur during daylight hours.
Additional images:
Sea Stacks in the Fog
Sculptures in Stone
Covered in Kelp
Incoming Tide
[Click on the featured image or any of the links above to view the five-image gallery.]
©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.