Marrowstone Island - Fort Flagler State Park
Jefferson Co., WA
Site Description:
The north end of Marrowstone Island, where Fort Flagler State Park is located, has several distinct beach habitats. At the northeast corner of the island is Marrowstone Point and the Marrowstone Lighthouse. The beach running south of the Lighthouse faces east into Admiralty Inlet. At low tide it is a long stretch of sandy beach with eelgrass beds and only a few small rocky areas. The beach running west of the Lighthouse faces north and is a rocky beach with only a few small pockets of sand. It faces the junction of Admiralty Inlet and Port Townsend Bay and is subjected to greater wave action. The rocks here range from large cobbles to large boulders. Most of the rocks are covered in seaweed or kelp. While some of the mollusk species here are found in both habitats, there are distinct differences between the two sides of the Point.At the northwest corner of the island is a sand and gravel spit facing Port Townsend Bay to the north and Kilisut Harbor to the south. As the beach heads south into the harbor it becomes more of a silty sand habitat. The mollusk diversity at the spit is similar to that south of the lighthouse.
Google Map
South of the Lighthouse
West of the Lighthouse
Spit at northwest corner of island
Species List:
Following is a list of mollusk species observed at this location by members and associates of the club. This is by no means a complete list of the species which may occur at this site. Revisions and additions to the data are made as we acquire new information. When a site contains more than one very distinctive type of habitat or if multiple sites were included in a single location, then a species list for each is included.
We indicate frequency of occurrence based on our observations. This is an indicator of how likely it is that you may be able to find this species yourself and is not a formal population survey.
Frequency Code: (Based on the assumption that you are looking in the appropriate location where the species
likes to live - on rocks, in sand, etc. Some populations fluctuate seasonally. Ours are based
on the spring/summer seasons.)
[4] - Rare - very difficult to find, maybe only a couple found after repeated visits to the site
[3] - Uncommon - difficult to find, may not see on every trip but dedicated searching may turn up a few
[2] - Common - easy to find, should locate a number of them on any given day
[1] - Abundant - very easy to find, large numbers should be seen on every trip
Data is all intertidal unless noted.