![]() ![]() One source for topographic maps is Discover Your Northwest at According to the Olympic National Park website, words on maps like ” ‘danger’ usually means that a headland cannot be rounded at any time by walking on the beach. For advance planning, you can download a tide chart for La Push from the National Park Service website ( but note that conditions can change.Ī topographic map will let you know what headlands become impassable at high tide, which ones should not be passed regardless of the tides and what areas to use caution when exploring the beaches of Olympic. Stop by any Olympic National Park visitor center or coastal ranger station to get both a topographic map and tide chart. And don’t assume tides will be the same every day because they are different. Don’t ever assume there will be two low tides in one day. Pick Up a Topographical Map and Tide ChartĪt Olympic, sometimes there is only one low tide on a day, so it is extremely important that you understand how to read a tide chart and have a topographic map with you, as well. People have died in the park because of the tides. If you are unaware of when the tides are coming up or down, you could get trapped in between steep cliffs and the water, leaving you no escape. ![]() What you may not realize is that high tide can make some of these headlands impassable, such as at Point of Arches on Shi Shi Beach or Hole in the Wall on Rialto Beach. At low tide, you can walk down Olympic’s beaches, safely rounding some of its headlands and exploring tidal pools. Without these, you run the risk of literally walking into a dangerous situation that could be life threatening.īlame it on the tides. The two low waters each day are the higher low water and the lower low water.Going to the Pacific coast bordering Olympic National Park’s western side requires two important things: a topographic map and a tide chart. The two high tides on a given day are normally not the same height – these are the higher high water and the lower high water in tide tables. Tides are mostly semi-diurnal (meaning two high waters & two low waters each day), or diurnal (meaning one tidal cycle per day). But in some locations the moments of slack tide differ quite a lot from those of high and low water. Slack water normally happens near high water and low water. Then the tide reverses direction and is said to be turning. When a tidal current ceases it is called slack water or a slack tide. Tides produce currents known as tidal streams. The water stops falling, reaching low tide.Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone ebb tide. ![]()
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