Ecstasy
Location: Gleason Cove Beach, Sonoma County, CA
Created 04/28/18 06:27:29 pm
Camera: Canon EOS 5D iii
Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM
Aperture: f/14.0; 1/80; ISO 250; 110 shots; stitched HDR Pano
ec·sta·sy
Noun: an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement.
Synonyms: rapture, bliss, elation, euphoria, cloud nine, seventh heaven, transports, rhapsodies, an emotional or religious frenzy or trance-like state, originally one involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence.
Gleason Cove Beach area is a truly magical stretch of coastal sea stacks, about 4 miles north of Bodega Bay, adjacent to old Hwy 1 as seen top right. This area is one of my favorite shoreline of the Pacific Ocean. If you have never seen this region, I highly recommend a road trip, stop at each of the many pull-outs along the 9.3 miles between Bodega Bay and the Russian River. Oblivious to its beauty, the rapidly eroding cliffs at Gleason Cove are prompted Cal Trans to install a $26 million realignment of the coastal highway at Gleason Beach, moving nearly a mile of the roadway, and building a new 850-foot bridge, about 400 feet farther inland from the restive ocean. Construction began in 2019, and was completed in Fall of 2023. The rocks jutting out of the ocean are called ‘sea stacks’ . They are geological landforms consisting of a steep and often vertical columns of rock in the sea, near the coast, formed by wave erosion. The force of the water weakens cracks in the headland, causing them to later collapse, forming free-standing stacks and even a small island. But eventually, long after many generations have come and gone, the outcome is that the structure becomes too weak, and the sea stack collapses under its own weight. Change is constant, the good news is that this one-of-a-kind, exquisite area remains untouched, protected, and is still approachable and accessible; and will be cherished for generations to come.
