Davenport Tide Pools - Geography

Geography

The normal tide pool is separated into two main zones. The Intertidal zone and the Subtidal zone. The Intertidal zone is only covered with sea water during high tide, while the Subtidal zone is closer to the ocean and is covered during low tide. The distinctive separation of organisms into bands along the shoreline is called Zonation. However the Davenport Tide pools are unique in the fact that there are many rifts and ridges in the rock formations, allowing water to reach high on the beach during low tide. This allows species that normally are not found together to live close.

"In contrast, gastropods are not fed upon in proportion to their abundance and availability. Only 2 species of gastropods, the black turban snail, Tegula, and the ribbed limpet, Acwaea scabra, are of any real importance to Pisaster as food. Of these, A. scabra lives higher in the intertidal region than Pisaster, its lower limit overlapping only slightly the upper limit of P. ocliraccrrs."

As shown the Davenport Tide Pool's rifts and ridges allow the Sea Star to reach limpets and snails in high tidal zones. This is a very prominent geographical feature at the Davenport Tide Pools since one would not normally see sea stars so high up the beach.

The tide pools also have multiple sea caves and a smaller rock formation that is reminiscent of the bridges Natural Bridges State Beach. The last prominent geological feature is the high cliffs above the tide pools.