A Long Beach Below a Commanding Bluff
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Black Point Beach is the southern-most, accessible beach in my home community of The Sea Ranch, Sonoma County, California. The beach forms the head of a broad bay that stretches from Black Point northward to Galleon’s Point, a distance of about 1600 yards (1460 m) or nearly a mile. The sandy beach at the head of this bay is about 1000 yards long (910 m), or slightly more than one-half-mile. The beach is below a 30-foot to 50-foot high (9-m to 15-m) bluff. Stairs near the south-end provide access to the beach from the ocean bluff.
The beach slopes very gently from the foot of the bluff out into the ocean. This makes for a very broad beach at low tide and a very narrow beach at high tide. During December and January king tides (at the full moon), the beach is fully covered by the ocean.
Both the trail along the ocean bluff and the beach itself are very popular venues for morning walks at The Sea Ranch. The height-of-land at Black Point makes a great spot to watch the entire beach and take in the coastal scene from the ocean, to the ocean meadow to the first ridge of coastal hills. Pacific Grey Whales can be readily observed as they migrate along the coast on their annual round-trip journey between Baja California and the coast of Alaska.
Black Point Beach is close to my home and I visit the beach frequently. The gallery of images provides a view of the beach and its environs through the seasons and over a period of about a dozen years. Enjoy!