Shelter Cove Tidepools

The Pacific Coast's rocky reefs feature some of the world's most abundant tidal zone life. The secret to this abundance are the winds and currents that drive surface water away from the shore, causing nutrient-rich cold water to rise from above. These nutrients cause plant life to flourish, providing a bounty of food for the incredible array of organisms that inhabit the tide pools, formed when receding tides trap seawater in basins among the rock.

The tide pools in the rocky reef below the bluffs at Shelter Cove are no exception. Exploring these pools and identifying the fascinating creatures that inhabit them is an adventure. The best time for tide-pooling is during spring tides, which happen every two weeks when there is a full moon or a new moon. But you can also explore tide pools between the full and new moons, thanks to neap tides, the lowest tides of the month. Plan your trip to the tide pools for an hour or two before or after the lowest minus tides, which occur twice daily. Tide tables can be purchased at local stores that stock fishing supplies.

Tide pools are generally divided into four zones: splash, high, mid and low. The splash zone is where only the highest tides, large waves, or a storm surge cover the rocks. The high tide zone is where only the highest tides reach. In these zones, you will find periwinkles, limpets, sea lettuce, acorn barnacles, some shore crabs and turban snails. In the mid-zone pools, usually exposed during the lowest minus tides each day, look for sea stars, hermit crabs and sculpins (which change their color to match the surrounding algae). Look for sea sacks and anemones just above the pools, and just below look for mussels, goose barnacles and sea palms. In the low zones, uncovered only during the lowest tides of the month, you can find abalone, sponges, rock crabs, urchins and maybe even an octopus. CAUTIONS: Wear long pants and shoes with soles that grip on wet rocks. Don't let the incoming tide flood your return route to shore. Don't turn your back to the ocean. Watch the waves, and don't let a big one sneak up and sweep you off the rocks. Don't collect tide-pool organisms. Many of them are becoming hard to find. Respect their habitat and don't carelessly flip over rocks in the pools