The City of Arcata is seeking community assistance with photo-documenting water levels on Arcata Bay and in local creeks and streams during the King Tide events occurring Friday, January 10 through Sunday, January 12.
In 2018 and 2019, over 160 community photographs were uploaded to the City’s King Tide Community Observation GIS Story Map, showing projections of what “normal” tide levels could look like in the future as a result of sea level rise. This visual record of King Tide events from year to year provides valuable data used by City staff when planning for sea level rise.
As in previous years, the City is interested in documenting 15 locations near the Janes Creek runoff, the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary and the Humboldt Bay Trail North, with special focus on documenting tidal levels at their peak on Saturday, January 11 at approximately 12:13 PM.
A King Tide Guide map of the observation sites can be found below, and a printable version can be found here.
Numbered stakes will be placed at the observation locations for easy identification, and flags and pens to mark the observation date and time will be provided at each site. Maps and additional information will be available at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary’s Interpretive Center and the Community Development Department office, located at 736 F Street in Arcata.
Photographs of these tidal events can be uploaded to the City’s King Tide Community Observation GIS Story Map, which can be found here with tips for mobile documentation of tide levels. Photographs will also be accepted by email at kingtide@cityofarcata.org.
All community photographs of the King Tide events from Friday, January 10 through Sunday, January 12 are welcome, and tide levels will vary slightly at each location. Community members documenting the tides are encouraged to pay close attention to the crest of the tide.
In addition, Friends of the Arcata Marsh will offer its third annual King Tide Tour from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM while the King Tides hit their peak on Saturday, January 11. Elliott Dabill will lead an informative discussion about King Tides, climate change and sea level rise impacts on Humboldt Bay and discuss how the City is preparing for the future. This tour will visit the new saltwater marshes by the brackish pond, and attendees are asked to meet at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary on South I Street at the first parking lot in from Samoa Boulevard. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Interpretive Center at 707-826-2359.
For more information about King Tides in Arcata, including “Science at the Marsh” and other King Tide events coming in February, please click here.
For more information about the California Coastal Commission's King Tides Project and King Tide events statewide, please click here.
