Tidal Flats Field Sites

Skagit Bay and Willapa Bay

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  • Intro
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  • References
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Willapa Bay Tidal Flats

Research will focus on the southern end of Willapa Bay, also known as Shoalwater Bay, where the tidal flats are dominated by mud and meandering channels. Spring tides in this area can exceed 4 m. There are a number of small rivers draining the coastal mountains to the east, however their water discharge is relatively small: mean over ~50 y for peak annual flows is 6070 cfs for the Naselle River (entering at southeastern side of Willapa Bay) and 8610 cfs for the Willapa River (entering at northeastern corner of Willapa Bay).

Studies in this area will emphasize the following objectives in the science plan:

• a) the processes and parameters that govern geotechnical stability and change;
• b) the linkages between remotely sensed signatures and sedimentary and geotechnical properties; and
• c) small-scale sediment-transport phenomena impacting sedimentation.

Maps

Aerial Map

Habitat Map

PDF version of Habitat Map

Willapa Habitat Map courtesy of:

Ferraro, S.P. and F.A. Cole, 2007, Bethic macrofauna-habitat associations in Willapa Bay, WA, USA, Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, 71, 491-507. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecss

Willapa Bay Links to Available Data

• Tides:
  • Paradise point, east side of Long Island, [cfdnet.com]
  • Tarlatt Slough, southwestern bay, [cfdnet.com]
  • Naselle River, southeastern bay, [cfdnet.com]
• Bathymetry
  • USGS LIDAR survey, 2002: [walrus.wr.usgs.gov]
• Weather:
  • Oceak Park, WA: [wunderground.com]
• Rivers:
  • Naselle River, southeastern bay: [waterdata.usgs.gov]
  • Willapa River, northeastern bay: [waterdata.usgs.gov]
• Public Image Databases
  • Washington State Shoreline (oblique) Aerial Photos, Navigate map and click on locations (red dots), [apps.ecy.wa.gov]
  • Washington State Ortho Aerial Photos, Select quadrant/quad and download raster images, [duff.ess.washington.edu]
• NOAA Charts
  • NOAA General Coastline Site: [nauticalcharts.noaa.gov]
  • NOAA Chart: 18504, [charts.noaa.gov]

Photos

Photo Placement Key

Note: all photos taken near or at low tide.

1.) South Long Island	2.) South Central	3.) Cutbank South
4.) West Long Island	5.) Meander Round Island	6.) Mudflats South
7.) Mudflats Southern	8.) Mudprints South	9.) Naselle Outlet
10.) Shins South
11.) Willapa Bay Sunset

References

Banas, N.S., Hickey, B.M., 2005, Mapping exchange and residence time in a model of Willapa Bay, Washington, a branching, macrotidal estuary: Journal of Geophysical Research C., v. 110.

Banas, N.S., Hickey, B.M., MacCready, P., and Newton, J.A., 2004, Dynamics of Willapa Bay, Washington: A highly unsteady, partially mixed estuary: Journal of Physical Oceanography. v. 34, p. 2413-2426.

Buijsman, Maarten C., Sherwood, Christopher R., Gibbs, Ann E., Gelfenbaum, Guy, Kaminsky, George, Ruggiero, Peter, and Franklin, Jerry, 2003, Regional sediment budget of the Columbia River littoral cell, USA, analysis of bathymetric-and topographic-volume change: U.S. Geological Survey Report 02-281, 167. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-281/

Clifton, H. Edward, 1983, Discrimination between subtidal and intertidal facies in Pleistocene deposits, Willapa Bay, Washington: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. v. 53, no. 2, p. 353-369.

Dingler, J.R. and Clifton, H.E., 1984, Tidal-cycle in oscillation ripples on the inner part of an estuarine sand flat: Marine Geology. v. 60, p. 219-233.

Ferraro, S.P. and F.A. Cole, 2007, Bethic macrofauna-habitat associations in Willapa Bay, WA, USA, Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, 71, 491-507.

Hands, E. B., and Shepsis, V. 1999. "Cyclic Channel Movement At The Entrance To Willapa Bay, Washington, USA," Proceedings of Coastal Sediments, '99, American Society of Civil Engineers, NY, Vol 2, pp 1522-1536.

Gelfenbaum, Guy and Kaminsky, George M., 2002, Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Workshop Report 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2002-229, 308 p. http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of02-229/of02-229.pdf

Gingras, Murray K., Pemberton, S. George, Saunders, Tom, and Clifton, H. Edward, 1999, The ichnology of modern and Pleistocene brackish-water deposits at Willapa Bay, Washington: Variability in estuarine settings: Palaios, v. 14, no. 4, p. 352-374.