Cape Alava

[2] Cape Alava is the westernmost point in the contiguous United States, with a longitude of 124° 44′ 11.8″ W (during low tide and walking out to the west side of Tskawahyah Island).

In early 1834, a mastless and rudderless Japanese rice transport ship, the Hojun Maru, made landfall at Cape Alava after drifting for 14-months on the Pacific Ocean.

[3] The Cape became the western terminus of the newly created Pacific Northwest Trail with the passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.

The rich mixture is a result of the combined erosive power of the ocean and relatively recent glacial activity.

According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the area's sediments are classified as Unconsolidated Deposition, translating to the geological equivalent of a grab bag.