Tillamook Head
Encyclopedia
Tillamook Head is a high promontory
on the Pacific
coast of northwest Oregon
in the United States
. It is located in west-central Clatsop County
, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Seaside
. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft (366 m) high, forested with Sitka Spruce
. It is located in Ecola State Park.
The promontory is named after the Tillamook
, a Salishan-speaking tribe of Native Americans
that inhabited the coast south of the promontory in the 19th century. In 1806, Captain William Clark and 12 members of the Corps of Discovery
journeyed south from Fort Clatsop
, hiking over the promontory where they encountered a beached whale
.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
on the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast of northwest Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located in west-central Clatsop County
Clatsop County, Oregon
Clatsop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of the Pacific Ocean prior to European settlement. As of 2010, the population was 37,039. The county seat is Astoria.-Economy:The principal...
, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Seaside
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft (366 m) high, forested with Sitka Spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
. It is located in Ecola State Park.
The promontory is named after the Tillamook
Tillamook (tribe)
The Nehalem or Tillamook are a Native American tribe from Oregon of the Salish linguistic group. The name "Tillamook" is a Chinook term meaning "people of Nekelim " and is also spelled Calamox, Gillamooks and Killamook....
, a Salishan-speaking tribe of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
that inhabited the coast south of the promontory in the 19th century. In 1806, Captain William Clark and 12 members of the Corps of Discovery
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
journeyed south from Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805-1806...
, hiking over the promontory where they encountered a beached whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
.
See also
- Tillamook Rock LightTillamook Rock LightTillamook Rock Light is a deactivated lighthouse on the Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately offshore from Tillamook Head, and south of the Columbia River, situated on less than acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned...
- Tillamook BayTillamook BayTillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...
- Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge ComplexOregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge ComplexThe Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of six National Wildlife Refuges along the Oregon Coast. It provides wilderness protection to thousands of small islands, rocks, reefs, headlands, marshes, and bays totaling 371 acres spanning 320 miles of Oregon's coastline...
- Cape MearesCape MearesCape Meares is a small headland on the Pacific coast in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The cape forms a high steep bluff on the south end of Tillamook Bay, approximately five miles northwest of the city of Tillamook...