Tidepooling

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We just started offering a tidepooling tour to our guests. If you're not from a tidepool area, this word probably doesn't mean a whole lot, so we thought we should give our friends a little more information on tidepooling.

Tidepooling is an outdoor activity which involves visitingthe rocky intertidal zone along the coastline. The intertidal zone is the areabetween the mean high tide and mean low water line. It is the home to a vastnumber of species that create a balanced and very diverse marine ecosystem thatcan be closely observed and enjoyed by humans. When people go tidepooling, theyexplore the area, looking at the organisms they find and often photographingthem.
Rocky coastlines create the conditions for tidepooling, with depressions inthe rock forming pools which hold seawater after the ocean recedes, allowinganimals to survive until the rising tide floods the area again. Each of thesepools can form a microcosm of life, hosting incredibly diverse creatures andseaweed. A number ofinteresting creatures can be found, including limpets, mussels, young crustaceans like crabs,sea anemones, starfish, barnacles, urchins, sea cucumbers, and chitons can befound in tidepools.

Here are some of our local tidepool areas:
Crescent Bay
Shaw's Cove
Picnic Beach (Heisler Park Reserve)
RockPile (Heisler Park Reserve)
Bird Rock (Heisler Park Reserve)
Moss Point
Treasure Island

If you are interested in setting up a tidepool tour, our Activities Coordinator would love to assist you!
Jill Morgan, jmorgan@jdvhotels.com; 949.281.5705.

Tidepools are fragile ecosystems that take many years to recover. Please donot take any living or non-living items from the tidepools. Be cautious ofwhere and what you step on while on the rocks. Tidepoolers should never try topry organisms off the rocks, as this can hurt or kill them, and they shouldwatch their step to avoid crushing the animals which call the intertidal zonehome.