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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016
The rock in Cannon Beach
By ELAINE TRUCKE
Special to The Daily Astorian
O
ne of the most iconic images of the Ore-
gon Coast is Haystack Rock.
It has been featured in magazines,
artwork and in photos from around the world. It
has even, dare we say, become a member of the
family? It has been prominently featured in fam-
ily photos, wedding shots and the like.
This basalt “sea stack” stands 235 feet tall.
There are varying accounts, but it is considered
one of the largest monoliths in the world. More
than that, this immense basalt rock is as famous
as Mount Hood, the Grand Canyon, or any other
breathtaking and beautiful natural occurrence.
People travel from around the world just to pho-
tograph the rock in the beauty of the setting sun,
by light of the moon, or by the light of day.
Haystack Rock is older than you might think
and its journey longer than you’d expect. Its story
began nearly 15 million years ago when volca-
nic lava fl ows from eastern Oregon fl owed along
the route of the Columbia River. When this lava
reached the sea, it descended into the soft ocean
fl oor, pooled in spots and pushed to the surface.
The story does not end there. Just 3 million
years ago, Oregon temporarily gained more land
to the west as the Ice Age reduced sea levels and
the earth’s crust shifted. As a result, the ocean
sediment became land instead of ocean fl oor and
was slowly lifted as the western fl ank of Oregon
gained more real estate. There, Haystack Rock
remained nestled in Oregon’s new coastal plain.
During the last 11,000 to 18,000 years, contin-
ued uplift associated with the movement of the
earth’s crust and erosion removed approximately
30 miles of sediments and volcanic rocks along
the northwestern Oregon coast. These lone inva-
sive basalt sentinels — such as Haystack Rock
— are what remain of the once great Northwest-
ern Oregon Coastal Plain.
Haystack Rock is not the lone basalt sentinel,
nor the biggest. Pacifi c City has their own rock,
which stands over 300 feet tall. So what makes
Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock so unique, so
appealing?
Well, for one, Haystack Rock is accessible
by land. You can walk up to the rock, or onto
the rock (although that is not allowed.) Hay-
stack Rock is a dedicated, protected m arine g ar-
den. As the sign at the base of the rock says, “All
living things, plant and animal, are protected.”
The stewards of the rock are the Haystack Rock
Awareness Program and the Friends of Haystack
Rock. It is the awareness program volunteers
that you see in red at the rock at various times of
the day and year.
The Haystack Rock Awareness Program was
conceived in serendipity. Neal and Karen Maine
brought spotting scopes and other equipment to
Haystack Rock one summer day in 1983. They
planned to observe birds and intertidal creatures,
but their day did not turn out as quietly as they’d
hoped. Curious passersby crowded around, ask-
ing for “interpretation of the wildlife.”
Inspired by the spontaneous enthusiasm of
visitors to Haystack Rock, Karen Maine sug-
gested that a program be organized. Neal Maine,
a teacher, had an easy time convincing Mayor
Lucille Houston that an environmental educa-
tion project was a good idea.
In the f all of 1984, Maine, Houston, and City
Manager Mark Lindberg gathered interested
environmental agencies who felt that the pro-
gram would do more than law enforcement to
protect the rock. A pilot program was launched
in the summer of 1985, coincidentally the fi nal
summer that Cannon Beach allowed driving on
the beach.
According to the city’s website, as many as
200,000 people visit the rock each day to see the
nesting seabirds and intertidal life.
Haystack Rock hasn’t always lived such
a protected life. In 1904, a developer by the
name of Mulhallan fi led a land claim on Hay-
stack Rock. Talk about oceanfront property! The
size and location of the lots that he envisioned
on Haystack Rock and its precipitous slopes, or
the design of the homes he planned to construct
there, is unknown. In any event, the claim was
subsequently denied. Thank goodness! Could
you imagine having a house teetering on Hay-
stack Rock?
Another attempt to make use of Haystack
Rock occurred shortly after the tsunami of 1964.
The community was brainstorming new ideas to
encourage visitors back to Cannon Beach. One
such idea was to illuminate Haystack Rock at
night. The power company was persuaded to run
a line to the rock and set up two large lights. The
lights were only lit for one night. The lighting
terrifi ed the seabirds roosting on the rock, they
took off in fright — swooping over the town and
covering it in … well, you can guess.
In 1968, the rock became a liability. Visit-
ing tourists, who fancied themselves rock climb-
ers, continually stranded themselves . Rescu-
ers had grown tired of this almost daily event.
As a solution, Haystack Rock was blasted in
such a way to make it inaccessible to climb-
ers or climbing enthusiasts. According to some
locals, there was a small trail (or accessible area)
on the rock face, although accounts differ as to
where it was located. The dynamiting of Hay-
stack Rock was such a big deal that it made news
throughout the nation! An article that appeared
in The Daily Chronicle of Centralia, Washing-
ton, reads, “Landmark dynamited.” The article
is dated Oct. 10, 1968. A 1968 report from the
Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife states
that 10 charges of dynamite were set off at the
face of Haystack Rock. A quote released by the
bureau in 1968 claimed that “the blast did not
change the appearance of the rock.”
In a rather historic twist, 1968 is the same
year that Haystack Rock was designated a pro-
tected wildlife refuge.
Elaine Trucke is the executive director of the
Cannon Beach History Center and Museum.
HISTORIC
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Submitted Photos
A developer once wanted homes on the Haystack Rock landmark.
An icon
today.
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