Clatsop Spit

The Clatsop Spit was formed by sediment brought to the coast by the Columbia River after the last ice age ended and the ocean level rose approximately 8,500 years ago.

[2] The seas around Clatsop Spit were known to be treacherous and there were many shipwrecks, including the paddle steamer General Warren in which 42 people died in the surf in 1852.

In 1883 the crew of the luxury schooner J.C. Cousins operated by the State of Oregon similarly vanished as she washed ashore.

It is estimated that since 1800 more than 2,000 vessels and close to 1,000 lives have been lost at the mouth of the Columbia River and in this context it is referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

[3] After the sea level along the coast rose to its current level approximately 8,500 years ago at the end of the last ice age, seasonal prevailing winds drove the Columbia River's sandy sediment to the Washington beaches in the winter and to Oregon's Clatsop Spit during the summer months.