The Wave of Nineteen Sixty Four
Near Cannon Beach, Oregon
On the evening of March twenty seventh, nineteen sixty four, a magnitude nine point two earthquake, the Good Friday quake, tore through Alaska near Anchorage. The ground shook for about four minutes, and it launched a tsunami that raced south along the Pacific coast through the night. When the water reached Cannon Beach, the first wave came ashore as a wall of water.
The north end of town was hit hardest. Homes were flooded or torn from their foundations. The highway bridge on the north side of town was washed away, cutting the town off from the main road.
Cannon Beach was spared the deaths that struck other coastal towns, but the damage was severe. Out of that disaster came something enduring. To coax visitors back, the town began a sandcastle contest on the beach after the flooding.
It still continues every June, and it still draws thousands to this sand each summer. Stand on that beach and the landmark you see is Haystack Rock, two hundred thirty-five feet tall, and at low tide you can often walk out to it. It is part of a national wildlife refuge, so events are not allowed within one hundred feet of either side.
Ecola Creek, which runs through town, honors William Clark's name for it, Ekoli, a Chinook Jargon word meaning whale. From the creek, the beach runs about eight miles south to Arch Cape.
