The Disappearing Town in Washington

The town of North Cove on the Washington Coast has been steadily eroding from the Pacific Ocean for decades, losing up to 200 feet of ground per year at the appropriately named Washaway Beach. Erosion has already claimed hundreds of houses, as well as a lighthouse, school, cannery, and a post office over the last century — and more homes fall each year. I took what will be my first of many trips to Washaway Beach to see what this battle between man and nature looks like.

Road Closed

Roads end abruptly in what's left of the town of North Cove, WA as the ocean's erosion continues. 

Waiting

A house looms dangerously close to the eroded coast. Previously, this house would have been thousands of feet from the beach.

Erosion

Fragments of road at Washaway Beach serve as a reminder that there is an entire community underneath the sand. 

Teetering

With no choice but to leave, residents left their house abandoned as it teeters on the edge of the erosion at Washaway Beach.

Beachfront Property

Though this group of houses is still about a football field away from the front lines of the coastal erosion, they will certainly be beachfront property in the next few years. 

Calm

Another road abruptly terminates into the ocean as the low tide exposes an otherwise innocent looking beach at night.