Naked in the tidepools
January 17, 2013 by Alison Hawkes
With seasonally low tides, now’s the time to head out to see arguably the most colorful critters in the Bay Area — the nudibranchs that dwell in tidepools along the coast.
Latest from tidepooling
Duxbury Reef
August 16, 2012 by elaubach
A golden green and maroon carpet hides miniature treasures along the western coast of Bolinas. There lies the largest shale reef on the Pacific coast in North America. Duxbury Reef extends about 1,000 feet into the ocean, up to a depth of thirteen feet. Walking among sea anemones, crabs and wavy sea grass at low tide you will find an exceptional tidal ecosystem.
From the parking lot, walk south towards Salisbury Point, where the rock formations look otherworldly as they jaggedly jet out of the water. Pale pink and muddy red coral slowly spread over the shale and even the Dungeness crabs that scurry through it. The crabs are like the squirrels of this underwater forest, foraging seaweed at every turn.
If you look very closely, a flicker of neon might catch your eye. Spotting a nudibranch is like playing “I Spy.” These tiny snail-like creatures glow pearlescent in the dawn’s early light with neon-tipped hairs.
The starfish, purple sea urchins and many other sea creatures hold tight while the waves begin to crash higher and higher. Make sure to be aware of the rising tide so that you don’t become isolated on an island and have to resort to trudging through the water, although that can be fun too.
Visit NOAA’s tide prediction site so that you time your trip to Duxbury at low tide. Minus tides, during the mornings before and after a new moon, are best.
Natural Bridges State Beach
July 08, 2012 by Bay Nature Staff
A gorgeous beach not far from Santa Cruz proper, this small state beach gets its name from the very cool …
Cowell Ranch/John Marsh State Park
July 08, 2012 by Bay Nature Staff
Less well known that nearby Fitzgerald Reserve, this beach also features good tidepooling, and an area close off for pupping …
Minus tides expose wilderness below the waves
June 28, 2012 by Claire Peaslee
Point Reyes Peninsula is rimmed along its rocky sections with a living fringe so diverse and wildly colorful – so dense with phenomenal creatures – that when the tides recede there’s a gravitational pull to go there and explore. Tidepools are literally the wilderness next door, yet accessible only when the moon and sun conspire to exert extra pull on the Earth’s oceanic sheath, thereby exposing the coastline. May through July is one of the two periods in the year when extreme low tides occur.
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From Collecting to Recollecting
July 01, 2007 by Susan McCarthy
This San Mateo coast reserve–home to brilliantly colored nudibranchs, 20-armed sun stars, and pupping harbor seals–has been transformed from a place of collection and plunder to one of exploration and wonder.
