Stonewall Bank
Shoal off Newport, Oregon, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stonewall Bank, also, the Stonewall Bank Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Areas (YRCA)[1] is a bar, loosely southwest of Newport, Oregon, United States. Waldport and Yachats are also near.[2] It is 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Yaquina Bay Light, and 14 miles (23 km) offshore. Running north, Stonewall Bank is 9 miles (14 km) long and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide.[3] Locally, Stonewall Bank is known as the Rock Pile, has good fishing for salmon, black rockfish and flatfish.[4]
| Stonewall Bank | |
|---|---|
| The Rock Pile | |
  Stonewall Bank Stonewall Bank is located off the coast of Oregon | |
| Location | Pacific Ocean, near Newport, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 44°31′29″N 124°23′34″W |
| Type | Bar |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 9 miles (14 km) |
| Max. width | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) |
| Max. depth | 160 metres (520 ft) |
It is split by a rocky channel, which was a seaward extension of the Yaquina River, when sea level was lower than today.[5] Stonewall Bank runs from sea level to 160 metres (520 ft) deep,[6] if more technically, its shallowest water is 7 metres (23 ft) deep.[7]
Inside Stonewall Bank
Inside Stonewall bank, it is illegal to fish for Pacific halibut, or any species from the Groundfish Group, which includes lingcod, rockfish, greenling, Pacific cod, skates and flatfish. It is open, for fishing for salmon, steelhead—using authorized methods, during authorized seasons—tuna, and other offshore pelagic species of fish[8]
Stonewall Bank has a buoy, which provides air pressure at sea level, air temperature, sea water temperature, waves, and winds.[9][10]
Geology
Of geology, Stonewall Bank is the site of a growing, west-verging anticline which strikes north-northwest on the continental shelf, at 44.5° N, southwest of Newport, going eastward, to its onshore continuation, the Yaquina River.[11]
On Stonewall Bank, a fault discovered in 2009 near southwest of Newport could produce an earthquake which compares in size to 1994's magnitude 6.7 quake that hit Northridge, California. The fault is a blind thrust fault.[12][13]