San de Fuca

A couple of small spits converge on a lagoon (two, actually) here at the northwestern corner of Penn Cove below the community of San de Fuca. Sometimes the place is referred to as Coveland.

There's enough fetch from the east and southeast to maintain the gravel spits, but not enough wave energy to keep the pickleweed (salicornia) from colonizing the more protected parts of the beach.

I couldn't find too much detail online, but I confirmed what I'd been told many years ago that there had once been a small tide-powered saw mill on the site. They apparently built a dam or control structure of some sort at the mouth of the inner lagoon, and it looks like they turned a portion of the spit into more of a dike, but not much is left besides some rusted pipes and some of the foundation of the mill.

Google Maps:  AERIAL VIEW
Ecology Coastal Atlas:  2006 Aerial Photo

Posted by Unknown

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