Severe currents, rocks and infamous weather doomed many ships along this wild coast. Shipwrecked mariners told of hardships endured on the rugged and desolate shoreline, and of dramatic rescues, some involving heroic assistance from local tribes. Memorials north of Rialto Beach commemorate 36 people who died in wrecks of Chilean and Norwegian vessels in 1920 and 1903.

Located near or within the present Park boundaries were two U.S. Coast Guard beach patrol stations. La Push Beach Patrol Station was located on the Quileute Indian Reservation at the mouth of the Quillayute River, and Kalaloch Beach Patrol Station was approximately twenty-five miles south of La Push.

The La Push beach patrol unit lasted less than a year and a half. On 29 March 1944, the beach patrol ended and a week later the unit decommissioned. Portions of trails in the Mora subdistrict of Olympic National Park probably date from the era of World War II beach patrol activities. One small, collapsed wood frame cabin located at Teahwhit Head is believed to be associated with World War II beach patrolling activities in the La Push unit.

One of the most memorable events in the brief history of the beach patrol occurred in the La Push unit in the early spring of 1943. Rain, wind and heavy seas drove the Russian steamship Lamut ashore behind a jagged cluster of rocks just off Teahwhit Head. The rescue of the Lamut crew was among the most dramatic events in the annals of World War II beach patrol history.

A treacherous shoreline and rough seas likely helped preserve the coast. Sea lions, seals, otters, whales, sea birds, and eagles are at home in this landscape of towering headlands and sea stacks.  Even today, with modern navigation and powerful engines, ships have trouble.

Credits and Sources:

National Park Service. "Historic Resource Study 1983." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/olym/hrs/contents.htm (accessed June 20, 2015).

National Park Service. "Mora/La Push Area." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/mora.pdf (accessed June 24, 2015).