The Oceans Of Titlow Beach / Puget Sound
Today’s article will discuss the oceans of Titlow beach / the bay of puget sound. Titlow beach is a beautiful beach that sits in the bay of puget sound. Titlow Beach has an incredibly diverse environment with everything from sandy barren flats to lush marine greenery. They are most well known for their scuba diving adventures & expeditions. They have a wide variety of marine fauna along the beach which also makes it a hot spot for marine watchers of all kinds. They have beautiful waters that are blue & sort of clear, this makes the watching of marine animals much easier. In this article we will be discussing the following: The salinity, temperatures, tides, & marine geography of Titlow beach, the most prominent marine ecosystems of Titlow beach & the documented marine fauna as well the documented marine flora. This is an incredibly diverse marine environment with many Microsystems within it. With that being said let’s delve into the oceans of Titlow Beach.
The Salinity, Temperatures, Tides, & Marine Geography Of Titlow Beach / Puget Sound
Titlow beach is located along the bay of puget sound in the northern area of Washington state. It is along the bay of Puget sound which connects to the Pacific ocean. The Salinity levels are 28.5 parts per thousand meaning that for every kilogram of seawater there are 28.5 grams of pure salt. They do have salt deposits close-by the beach however they are rather small & it is incredibly hard to see as Puget sound extends quite deep. Puget sound extends approximately 928 feet deep or 282.854 meters deep. Titlow beach also has a non-dangerous riptide & does not have a very dangerous high tide. That is due to the fact that it exists within a bay. However, it is recommended that you listen to any warnings provided by the Washington coastal guard. Puget sound is 1,020 square miles so it’s not uncommon to see boaters in the water. However, there are multiple marine protected areas of Puget Sound. These are where you can find the most marine organisms as they have been ran out or left a few other places entirely. They do have salt water marshes however those marshes do not cause issues with the salinity or any other related things. The marine terrain are biologically diverse & the most common kinds that are found in puget sound are sandy or rocky bumpy areas, underwater seagrass covered areas, & salt water marshes / estuaries, & The average sea water temperature as well as the highest & lowest sea water temperature for each month of 2022 are as follows:
January average 8.12° Celsius / 46.616° Fahrenheit with a high of 10.54° Celsius / 50.972° Fahrenheit & a low of 7.1° Celsius / 44.78° Fahrenheit, February average 7.97° Celsius / 46 red.166 Fahrenheit with a high of 9.36° Celsius / 48.848° Fahrenheit & a low of 6.37° Celsius / 43.466° Fahrenheit, March average 8.13° Celsius / 46.634° Fahrenheit with a high of 10.38° Celsius / 50.684° Fahrenheit & a low of 7.05° Celsius / 44.69° Fahrenheit, April average 8.84° Celsius / 47.912° Fahrenheit with a high of 11.01 Celsius° / 51.818° Fahrenheit & a low of 7.61° Celsius / 45.698° Fahrenheit, May average 9.72° Celsius / 49.496° Fahrenheit with a high of 11.69° Celsius / 53.042° Fahrenheit & a low of 8.22° Celsius / 46.796° Fahrenheit, June average 10.36° Celsius / 50.648° Fahrenheit with a high of 12.54° Celsius / 54.572° Fahrenheit & a low of 8.86° Celsius / 47.948° Fahrenheit, July average 10.99° Celsius / 51.782° Fahrenheit with a high of 15.01° Celsius / 59.018° Fahrenheit & a low of 8.86° Celsius / 47.948° Fahrenheit, July average 10.99° Celsius / 51.782° Fahrenheit with a high of 15.01° Celsius / 59.018 Fahrenheit & a low of 9.3° Celsius / 48.74° Fahrenheit, August average 11.32° Celsius / 52.376° Fahrenheit with a high of 14.18° Celsius / 57.524° Fahrenheit & a low of 9.8° Celsius / 49.64° Fahrenheit, September average 11.14° Celsius / 52.052° Fahrenheit with a high of 13.67° Celsius / 56.606° Fahrenheit & a low of 9.56° Celsius / 49.208° Fahrenheit, October average 10.22° Celsius / 50.396° Fahrenheit with a high of 11.33° Celsius / 50.594° Fahrenheit & a low of 8.88° Celsius / 47.984° Fahrenheit, November average 9.55° Celsius / 49.19° Fahrenheit & a high of 11.82° Celsius / 53.276° Fahrenheit with a low of 8.42° Celsius / 47.156° Fahrenheit, December average 8.69° Celsius / 47.642° Fahrenheit with a high of 10.24° Celsius / 50.432° Fahrenheit & a low of 7.25° Celsius / 45.05° Fahrenheit.
The Main Marine Ecosystems Of Titlow Beach / Puget Sound
Salt Water Marshes
There are many salt water marshes that exist around the bay of Puget Sound. They line certain parts of the shoreline & are home to thousands of different species. This area typically sees a variety of fish & marine invertebrates such as crabs. This area usually has an above ground area that is half flooded & an underwater area. The one of the most delicate of ecosystems along the shoreline of Puget Sound. These areas are found in abundance along the shoreline & off to the sides of puget sound. They also usually have sea birds & sea lions that enjoy the area because of the plentiful small fish (rockfish, alaskan pollock, etcetera) can be found here. Most creatures in the underwater areas here are usually quite small in size. This makes it a sea birds absolute paradise.
Rocky Barren Areas
In the bay of Puget Sound there are certain areas which have a rocky bottom or a bottom that has extremely compacted sand & not much else. These areas are usually barren & don’t see many visitors other then crabs & occasionally small fish. However in this area, The giant pacific octopus can be found searching for crabs & small minnows. They are quite illusive & dislike contact with humans. They can be quite timid & shy however they are usually friendly towards humans unless provoked. However these areas are usually found near the coast or near the middle most area of the bay. They are relatively uninhabited by marine vertebrates. However tunnels that are dug by crabs can be found so it is best to make sure that if you go towards these areas that you do not accidentally harm the species found here.
Sandy Barren Areas
The sandy most areas are usually home to a bustling ecosystem of many different species. These areas of puget sound may seem barren however they contain many different creatures. These are found all around puget sound & usually have horrible visibility. Sea lions, various crabs, minnows, & octopi are found in this ecosystem. These areas are oftentimes the hunting grounds of larger fish such as the northern pacific hake. They may not look like they have a bustling ecosystem however they do. This set of ecosystems are often the most disturbed ecosystem of puget sound as they can be considerably close to the shoreline.
Seagrass Bedded Ecosystems
These ecosystems are quite self explanatory in that they consist largely of seagrass. These are typically the most active of the ecosystems & many different species can be found here. There are a 6 of different types of seagrasses that grow in puget sound which will all be covered in the section of marine flora. These areas are home to many marine fish which will be documented in the section of marine fauna. These ecosystems the best place to find & photograph marine life. These areas are also not strictly reserved to any single place of Puget sound.
The Documented Marine Flora Of Titlow Beach / Puget Sound
There are many different types of documented marine flora of Puget Sound. While they may not be as colourful as say Miami, they are incredibly interesting & utterly beautiful. Washington’s department of natural resources, an log was made of all the monitored seagrasses that exist within the bay of puget sound. This experiment was conducted between 2016 & 2017 & was officially published in 2019. Another much longer experiment was conducted between 2000 & 2020 in order to monitor seagrasses in the greater area of Puget Sound. This was also conducted by Washington’s department of natural resources. Between these 2 experiments, It was found are a total of 6 Seagrasses that grow in the bay. These seagrasses are known as Zostera marina (Common eelgrass), Zostera japonica (Dwarf eelgrass / Japanese eelgrass), Phyllospadix serrulatus (Toothed surfgrass), Phyllospadix scouleri (Scouler’s surfgrass), Phyllospadix torreyi (Torreys surfgrass), & Ruppia maritima (Widgeon grass). Out of all of these it was found that the Zostera marine or common eelgrass is the most abundant & common seagrass in Puget Sound. It was also discovered that over 80% of the total area of greater puget sound has some form of seagrass presence. However, seagrass was not observed directly near Titlow beach. It is found much closer to western Seattle & Adelaide. In recent years, there has been a decrease in seagrass near San Juan island & central puget sound. There has also been a slight decline in the shallow areas of Puget sound. This implies that humans may be having a negative effect on the coastal seagrass distribution of Puget sound. This seems to be the case for many bays in America. Puget sound seems to be suffering the same fate as Morro Bay. (The-bay-of-morro-bay Click Here for more information.) Another factor that plays into the decline in seagrass density is that Puget sound is slightly polluted. This is mainly due to polluted surface runoff. However, the seagrass distribution is slowly showing signs of migration towards the middle of puget sound & is mainly declining in the coastal areas. This sparks a new era & many new ecosystems for the bay of puget sound.
The Documented Marine Fauna Of Titlow Beach / Puget Sound
There are a large variety of different marine fauna that live in the bay of Puget Sound. Many of these species are used to colder temperatures as Puget sound itself is quite cold. However, due to the coldness of the water larger fish & larger marine mammals tend to live in Puget sound. These animals where unfortunately not provided with enough protection for a very long period of time which led to the collapse of certain species infrastructure. However, Puget sound has a total of 26 marine protected areas as of 2023. This has led to the rise of many species. There unfortunately is not a complete log of all marine species in 2023. However, there is still a good log of species that are currently known in puget sound. The list of all known marine mammals in puget sound is as follows: Orcas (orcinus orca), harbour porpoise (phocoena phocoena), bottle nose dolphins (tursiops truncatus), grey whales (eschrichtius robustus, common dolphins (delphinus delphis), fin whales (balaenoptera physalus), Steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus), northern sea otters (enhydra lutris), northern minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), northern elephant seal (mirounga angustirostris), Dall’s porpoise (phocoenoides dalli), Risso’s dolphin (grampus griseus), humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae), Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni), long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis), ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata), sperm whales (pheseter macrocephalus), Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), & river otters (lontra canadensis). These are all creatures that can spotted around puget sound. Unfortunately, some have been injured due to pollution runoff & human activity. However, slowly these creatures if found are being rehabilitated & released back into puget sound by organizations such as the Seattle aquarium. These animals if spotted, should not be messed or tampered with. Since there have been migration patterns through & in puget sound, we most likely will never have a complete list of animal species for puget sound.
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