Shi Shi Beach is located just west of Neah Bay and the Makah Indian Reservation in Olympic National Park. It stretches 2.3 miles south to Point of the Arches, a picturesque complex of sea stacks, grottos, arches, and tide pools at the northwestern-most tip of the continental United States.

The Intertidal Zone is a coastal area exposed to air at low tide and submerged at high tide.

Low tide reveals tide pool catacombs at Point of the Arches

A bald eagle scavenges a rotting seal carcass on Shi Shi Beach

The richest tide pools can be found on the north side of Point of the Arches

A tagged peregrine falcon surveys the beach from Petroleum Creek

Oyster Catchers are common along tide pools and sea stacks at Shi Shi Beach

Sea Stars are opportunistic hunters that will feed on just about anything in a tide pool

When ripe, salal berries turn dark blue and posses a high sugar content

Sea Stacks are remnants of headlands cracked by powerful hydraulic forces (water)

Sea anemone are polyps that attach themselves to rock with an adhesive foot called a basal disc

Olympic has one of the most diverse and highly concentrated sea star populations in the world

Travel south of Point of the Arches requires steep headland climbs aided by ropes

Islands accessible at low tide can quickly become isolated at high tide

Salmonberry lines much of the trail, producing a sweet edible fruit by late June

Low tide exposes rows of rock likely eroded from much larger formations