Coast boasts whale of a time to visit.Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard While many Oregon students are preparing to head south to warmer climates to observe spring break , about 24,000 Pa- cific gray whales are heading north to their feeding grounds in Arctic waters, passing the Oregon coastline along the way. To help visitors spot and watch the leviathans - which will be passing coastal viewpoints at the rate of up to 30 per hour - volunteers will staff observation points up and down the Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a geographical term that is used to describe the coast of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean. Stretching 362 miles from Astoria to the California border, the Oregon Coast is unique in that the whole coastline is public land. starting Saturday and continuing through March 30. About 250 volunteers will be available each day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 29 locations between Ilwaco, Wash., and Crescent City Crescent City is the name of the following places:
The whales are returning from the warm-water breeding and birthing lagoons of Mexico's Baha peninsula to feed in the Bering and Chukchi seas. The 10,000-mile round-trip migration is the longest of any mammal. "We've received reports that newborn gray whale calves have already been seen in high numbers off the coast of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ," said Mike Rivers, whale-watching coordinator for the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation. "Therefore, we should see northbound migrating mothers and calves off the Oregon Coast in good numbers during our whale watch week and in following weeks through early June." Rivers organizes the whale-watching program twice a year - in March during the northward north·ward adv. & adj. Toward, to, or in the north. n. A northern direction, point, or region. north migration and in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. during the southern migration. He said the whales generally travel closer to the shore during their northward journey, making them easier to spot. In the spring, the average distance is about two miles offshore and during the winter it's as much as five miles offshore, he said. Last spring's inclement in·clem·ent adj. 1. Stormy: inclement weather. 2. Showing no clemency; unmerciful. in·clem weather made the whales hard to see on most days and kept the number of visitors down. A total of 15,492 people turned out and spotted 1,893 whales. The record for spring whale sightings
Sightings was a paranormal-themed television program that was first broadcast as an hour special entitled "UFO Report: Sightings" in October 1991. is 5,030, set in 1990. The largest number of visitors to turn out for the spring event was 32,071 in 1997. This year's whale-watching effort will be a little more meaningful for Rivers, who just returned from a whale-watching trip in Baja's San Ignacio Lagoon San Ignacio Lagoon was originally discovered by whaling captain Jared Poole, brother-in-law to captain Charles Melville Scammon. The first whaling expedition to San Ignacio Lagoon occurred in 1860 led by Scammon and six whaling vessels. led by Oregon State University Oregon State University, at Corvallis; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1858 as Corvallis College, opened 1865. In 1868 it was designated Oregon's land-grant agricultural college and was taken over completely by the state in 1885. whale expert Bruce Mate. About 200 cows and calves were in the lagoon, he said, and seeing them was an extraordinary experience. "We saw lots of them at very close range," he said. "We got to pet them. Some of the visitors even kissed them." Veteran whale watchers advise bringing binoculars and warm clothing in case of bad weather. Rivers said new waterproof whale-watching guides are for sale this year at coastal visitor centers. Charter boats and some charter aircraft in the Newport area will be offering whale-watching trips during the week. The Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport will present children's "whale story times" and special auditorium and lab programs on gray whales. The Cape Perpetua Visitor Center on Highway 101 south of Yachats will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during whale watch week. The center offers a spot to see the whales from a warm and dry vantage point, and also will be showing whale videos in the auditorium. CAPTION(S): INSIDE A map of whale-watching viewpoints on the central coast / 2C |
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