On foggy days, a massive silhouette encircled by ocean transports your imagination to times past. If you were close to the refuge in spring the raucous calls of more than 100,000 nesting Common Murre would fill your ears. Designated as the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River, Three Arch Rocks Refuge lies ½ mile offshore of the community of Oceanside. One of the Oregon coast's best-known landmarks, the refuge consists of three large and six smaller rocks totaling 15 acres.

The refuge is one of the smallest National Wilderness Areas in the country, but features the largest colony of breeding Tufted Puffins and the largest Common Murre colony south of Alaska. It is the only northern Oregon pupping site for the threatened Steller Sea Lion.

The refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt after being persuaded by two young conservationists — William L. Finley and Herman Bohlman — who studied and photographed Three Arch Rocks from Oceanside beginning in 1901.

The Three Arch Rocks Refuge has provided protection for Oregon's largest seabird nesting colony of more than 230,000 birds since October 14, 1907.

http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/3archrocks/index.htm

Be sure to check out our Wildlife Maps on Our Oregon Coast Maps page