View to the north from the old entrance of Sea Lion Cave, located between Yachats and Florence, Oregon
An elevator takes you down to America’s largest sea cave. It is home of a herd of Steller sea lions, that find protection against weather and rough seas in the cave mostly during fall and winter. Other than their cousins, the California sea lions, they don’t bark but really have the loud roar of lions. It was a spectacular experience for all senses. A photo alone cannot capture the sound of the crushing waves, the roar of the sea lions, the smell of the ocean mixed with the smell of the animals, but it might give you a sense of scale in this cave. We were told approximately 75 Steller sea lions were present in the cave that day.
I was a little skeptical if being in the sea cave would lead too a good shot, but another opening in the cave, which used to be the old main entrance for visitors, gave us a fantastic view to the Pacific Coast of Oregon. The clouds had just opened up and a little bit of sun came through, touching the mossy rocks and the waterfall on the right, and shed some light onto Heceta Head Lighthouse in the background on the cliff. I’m not a big fan of ”tourist traps”, and Sea Lion Cave at the Oregon coast is definitely one, but the experience there was worth a visit.
A stone wall and metal bars keep sea lions and visitors safely separated from each other. The Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 just barely fits through the gaps in the metal grid but allowed me to point the lens down and capture this image of the sea cave with its residents.