Nehalem Bay

 fishing area, bay, estuary, interesting place

Formed at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Nehalem River, the bay is a typical Northwest bay in that it is separated from the ocean by a linear sand spit that begins at a headland and ends at a jetty where the river finally enters the ocean.

The beach on the ocean side of the spit is wonderful. Access from Nehalem Bay State Park or Manzanita.

Much of the present bay is shallow from siltation which you can see in these WikiMapia aerial images. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the bay and jetty were deep enough to accommodate commercial sail and steam vessels. Wetland and salt marsh areas of the bay were extensive. Most of the fields you see northeast of the present bay were wetland and frequently flooded by the river and also by ocean storm surge inundations blown in by frequent winter storms making landfall with gale- and hurricane-force winds.

Scattered and hard to find, remnants of native long houses can be discerned in the shore pine forest along the bay. Old time bayfront land owners can show you ancient redwood stumps--a mystery since redwoods are presently only found in southern Oregon and California.

Legend has it that Chinese artifacts have been found buried deep in bay silt, fueling speculation about visits by early Chinese explorers.