Nehalem Bay

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Nehalem Bay | native_name = | other_name = | image = | alt = | caption = | image_bathymetry = | alt_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Northern Oregon, United States | group = | coordinates = {{Coord|45.691792|-123.92355|region:US|format=dms|display=inline, title}} | type = Bay, Estuary | etymology = | part_of = Pacific Ocean | inflow = Nehalem River | rivers = Nehalem River | outflow = Pacific Ocean | oceans = Pacific Ocean | catchment = {{convert|850|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} | basin_countries = United States | agency = | designation = | date-built = | engineer = | date-flooded = | length = | width = | area = | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | salinity = Brackish (estuary) | shore = | elevation = {{convert|0|ft|m|abbr=on}} (at sea level) | temperature_high = | temperature_low = | frozen = | islands = | islands_category = | sections = | trenches = | benches = | cities = Nehalem | pushpin_map = Oregon | pushpin_label_position = right | pushpin_map_alt = Map of Oregon showing the location of Nehalem Bay | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Oregon | mapframe = yes | website = | reference = }} left|thumb|Nehalem Bay at the mouth of the Nehalem River on the Pacific Ocean '''Nehalem Bay''' is a bay formed by the confluence of the Nehalem River with the Pacific Ocean in northern Oregon, United States. It is Oregon's fifth-largest estuary.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Archived copy | url=https://pubs.oregon.gov/dogami/og/OGv52n03.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215015130/https://pubs.oregon.gov/dogami/og/OGv52n03.pdf | archive-date=2024-02-15}}</ref> The main tributary of Nehalem Bay is the Nehalem River. Nehalem Bay drains an area of more than 850 square miles.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CZIC-gc856-d44-1974/html/CZIC-gc856-d44-1974.htm | title=Descriptions and information sources for Oregon estuaries }}</ref>

thumb|right|Sunset over the bay in February 2010

The city of Nehalem (pop. 271 in 2010) is situated on US Highway 101 north of Garibaldi and south of Cannon Beach.<ref>[http://www.city-data.com/city/Nehalem-Oregon.html City-Data. Nehalem, Oregon]</ref>

West of the bay, Nehalem Bay State Park is located on the sandspit separating the bay from the ocean, where elk, coyotes, and several species of birds live. The park has a long beach, where centuries-old Spanish shipwrecks have been found.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/attractions/museums/the-unsolved-mystery-of-oregons-beeswax-wreck/ | title=The Unsolved Mystery of Oregon's Beeswax Wreck | date=22 November 2022 }}</ref> The park has campsites and yurts open year round.<ref>[http://www.city-data.com/articles/Nehalem-Bay-State-Park-Nehalem-Oregon.html City-Data. Nehalem Bay State Park.]</ref><ref>[http://www.mdvaden.com/nehalem_bay.shtml Vaden, Mario. ''Nehalem Bay State Park Campground''.]</ref>

Historians have argued whether British explorer Sir Francis Drake sought safe harbor for his ship, the Golden Hind (originally called "The Pelican"), in Nehalem Bay.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/new-sir-francis-drake-exhibit-now-on-display-at-nehalem-valley-historical-society/ | title=New Sir Francis Drake Exhibit Now on Display at Nehalem Valley Historical Society | date=19 May 2022 }}</ref> According to Garry D. Gitzen, author of the 2011 book "Francis Drake In Nehalem Bay 1579, Setting the Historical Record Straight," Drake sailed "northward to the Pacific Northwest at 44° and then to 48° north latitude in the summer of 1579, until he entered into a fair and fit harbor for his five-week stay in Nehalem Bay to repair his leaking ship."

In 1693, a Spanish trading ship wrecked near Nehalem Bay in what is known as the Beeswax Wreck.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Nehalem Bay}}

Category:Bays of Oregon Category:Oregon Coast Category:Bodies of water of Tillamook County, Oregon