Tamanowas Rock

April 25, 2019

Tamanowas Rock

Photographer: Joe LaCour 
Summary Author: Joe LaCour 

After living on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington for 14 years, I recently discovered Tamanowas Rock, pictured above. It’s just a short hike (about 1.2 miles or 2 km) from the trailhead at the parking lot to this 150 ft (46 m) outcrop. Also known as Chimacum Rock, it was once a sacred gathering place of the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. Composed of adakite lava and breccia it likely formed by subduction of an ancient mid-ocean ridge beneath the current west coast of North America.