view of San Elijo Lagoon at 730 AM today.
It's time again for a King Tide event due to the alignment of the Moon, Sun and Earth. Sunday morning at 7:37 will be higher, and Monday morning the highest, at 8:18 AM and 7.61 feet above mean tide. That also means that over the weekend and Monday we will have some of the lowest tides of the year in the afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30. It's a great time to check out our the sea life at our wonderful tide pools, of which San Diego has many. My favorite place in North County is in Carlsbad, between the power Plant (soon to be gone!) and South Carlsbad near Cerezo and PCH. Park on the street on Cerezo, and there are stairs just south of the last house on the bluff. I have seen lobsters, Red rock crabs, red rock shrimps, ghost shrimps, brittle stars etc., etc. If you go, enjoy, but avoid touching or stepping on the critters. If you turn over a rock turn it back, and look don't take, as it's a protected area. It is a hidden place, very special! In San Diego the well marked Point Loma tidepools are fantastic and you will see a full diversity of sea life. Some of our tide pools have been either overloved (visited) or affected detrimentally by nearby sand replenishment programs. One such beach is in Cardiff, where sand has covered some of the previous habitat. You will still see really cool creatures and plant life, just not as many different kinds of life.
If you go at the high tide event you will get a better idea what our future norm will be due to Global Warming and rising tides. Many coastal towns have plans in place or in discussion on how to deal with the effects on property and infrastructure. Sand Replenishment is one of many ways to deal with the increase in erosion due to higher waves. For sure it is a complex and controversial problem: how to preserve property without causing havoc on wildlife.
Hope to see you at the tidepools this weekend, and enjoy!
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