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Dungeness Spit

 
Dungeness Spit

 
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Dungeness Spit
 
 
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Dungeness Spit is a long sand spit
Spit (landform)

A spit is a Deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, while at the far end they exist in open water. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift....
 jutting out from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, Washington. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound and the Hood Canal....
 in northeastern Clallam County, Washington
Clallam County, Washington

Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2000, the population was 64,525. The county seat is at Port Angeles, Washington, which is also the county's largest city....
, into the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long forming the principal outlet for the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean....
. It is entirely within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and home of the Dungeness Lighthouse. It is the longest natural sand spit in the United States.






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Dspit
Dungeness Spit is a long sand spit
Spit (landform)

A spit is a Deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, while at the far end they exist in open water. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift....
 jutting out from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, Washington. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound and the Hood Canal....
 in northeastern Clallam County, Washington
Clallam County, Washington

Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2000, the population was 64,525. The county seat is at Port Angeles, Washington, which is also the county's largest city....
, into the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long forming the principal outlet for the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean....
. It is entirely within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and home of the Dungeness Lighthouse. It is the longest natural sand spit in the United States. Its land area, according to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, is 1,271,454 square meters (0.4909 sq mi, or 314.18 acre
Acre

The acre is a Units of measurement of area in a number of different systems, including the Imperial unit#Measures of area and United States customary units#Units of area systems....
s). The lighthouse once was run by USCG, but since an automatic light was installed, it has been run by the "New Dungeness Lighthouse Organization".

It was first found by Europeans during the Spanish 1790 Quimper expedition
Juan Carrasco (explorer)

Juan Carrasco was a Spain naval officer, explorer, and navigator. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century....
.

The name "Dungeness" refers to the Dungeness (headland) in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. It was given by George Vancouver
George Vancouver

Captain George Vancouver Royal Navy was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his Vancouver Expedition, including the shores of the modern day Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon....
 in 1792, who wrote: The low sandy point of land, which from its great resemblance to Dungeness in ths British Channel, I called New Dungeness.

In December 2001 a heavy winter storm forced water over the spit. The next morning the spit was broken in three places, and vehicles supplying the lighthouse were not able to traverse the spit for about a month.

See also

  • Dungeness River
    Dungeness River

    The Dungeness River is located in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It rises near Mount Constance in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park, flows through the Buckhorn Wilderness, near the town of Sequim, Washington, and drains into the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the Dungeness Spit....
  • Dungeness crab
    Dungeness crab

    The Dungeness crab is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Santa Cruz, California....


External links

United States Census Bureau