Perego's Lagoon

Here's the third of my Ebey's Landing posts from Black Friday, a week and a half ago.

The 3 1/2 mile loop from Ebey's around Perego's Lagoon is the best coastal hike on Puget Sound. Yes, there are other nice ones, but this is more special than the rest. Especially on a day like this one! Most people hike the loop counterclockwise, hiking up along the edge of the bluff and then returning along the beach.

The last time I hiked the whole loop was also right after Thanksgiving, but on a very foggy day! 
Perego's Lagoon: 2008 (or for a different perspective on the same trip, see hshipman)

Perego's Lagoon is formed behind a narrow barrier beach - a looped barrier is one term I've heard to describe this kind of feature, a closed spit might be another. The general pattern of longshore transport is from north to south, although it's probably not quite that simple along here.

AERIAL VIEW

In the previous post I mentioned the perched dunes on the top of the bluff, which you traverse as you walk the crest of the slope to the north, with the grassy angle-of-repose bluff falling off to your left and the forest to your right. The bluff trail provides great views down at the lagoon and the spit, including some very nice overwash fans (I believe washover fans also works). The backside of the barrier is marked by several of these features, which mark occasions when waves overtopped the berm during a high tide storm and spread sand and gravel into the lagoon.

The northernmost is interesting for several reasons. First, it is fairly recent. It appeared sometime between the 1970s and the early 1990s. I'd put my money on the 1979 storm, which walloped this part of the Sound, but am in the process of seeing if I can find out more. Second, it completely crosses the lagoon, isolating a small portion to the north. I don't know whether these fans represent an event contained within a single storm and tide cycle, or whether they may have remained open for longer. I've also wondered how this feature would record a tsunami coming down the Strait!