Cape Perpetua Geology Webinar

The Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve Collaborative offers a deep time experience with the webinar “A Yachats Volcano?  Understanding the Geology of the Cape Perpetua Area.”  This online presentation by geologist David Muerdter takes place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18.  The event is free and open to all—registration required.

Dr. Muerdter will address the question, Why is there a rugged rocky coastline from Cape Perpetua to Heceta Head? To the north of Yachats there are long stretches of sandy beaches; to the south are the sandy beaches and dunes around Florence. This talk will answer the question by taking the audience back into deep time to learn about plate tectonics, Oregon’s long geologic history, and a volcano in future Yachats that erupted and deposited hard, resistant basalt rock some 37 million years ago. Yachats is built on the remnants of this volcano. Learn how the volcano was eroded and reshaped to create the rocky coastline we see today, including the Devil’s Churn, Spouting Horn, and Thor’s Well.

David Muerdter has a BS in Geology from Oregon State University and a PhD in Geological Oceanography from University of Rhode Island. During his studies he sailed on many oceanographic cruises to collect deep sea sediments. His career was as a geophysicist specializing in how sound moves through rocks, and he taught classes in this specialty around the world. Since retiring, he volunteers at the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center while visiting the central Oregon Coast in the summer.

To register for this event, go here.