The Copalis River flows southwest for 22 miles (35 km) to the community of Copalis Beach, then another 2 miles (3.2 km) to the Pacific Ocean at Griffith-Priday State Park, about 21 miles (34 km) northwest of Hoquiam and 5 miles (8 km) south of Pacific Beach, Washington. The river and community are named after the historical tribe of Chepalis or Copalis people, referred to as “Pailsk” by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark during the Corps of Discovery Expedition from 1803 to 1806. The river drains a watershed on the southwestern flank of the Olympic Mountains and is tidal for about 4.5 miles (7 km) upstream from its mouth. The lower 2 miles (3.2 km) are protected by a natural sand spit with low dunes, which are part of Griffith-Priday State Park. The park covers 533 acres (215 ha) and features over 8,000 feet (2,500 m) of ocean shoreline and 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of freshwater shoreline along the Copalis River. The geology of the lower Copalis River consists mainly of Pleistocene alpine outwash, comprising sand, gravel, and cobbles of sandstone and basalt from the Olympic Mountains’ core. The beaches of southwestern Washington consist of a single continuous sand body extending northward from the mouth of the Columbia River for about 60 miles (100 km). Although the landward edge of this sand sheet is interrupted by Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay, its continuity is maintained offshore. The Columbia River is the main source of sand, which is moved northward by seasonally reversing longshore currents. These currents are generated by wind and waves, transporting sand northerly in winter and southerly in summer. Due to the high-energy winter winds driving the northerly current, compared to the lower-energy southerly waves, the predominant drift direction is northward. The seasonality of the longshore drift aligns with changes on the beaches. Winter waves draw sand from exposed beach areas, making them steep and narrow. In contrast, summer waves push sand back onto the beaches, making them wider and flatter.

The mouth of the Copalis River, along with the coast from Joe Creek to Grays Harbor, was once the territory of the Copalis tribe. The name “Copalis” comes from the Quinault language, and the tribe is considered a subdivision by both the Chehalis and Quinault Indian Nation. Historically, the Copalis River supported abundant Pacific salmon, and the ocean beaches produced seemingly endless clams. In 1805, Lewis and Clark estimated that 200 Copalis lived in 10 houses at the river’s mouth. Euro-American contact was evident by 1850, when potatoes were grown. At that time, the Copalis had no special designation as a federally recognized tribe. As a nontreaty people, their few remaining members relied on the Quinault Indian Agency for medicines and smallpox vaccinations. By 1888, only five individuals were identified with the Copalis tribe. The first non-native settlers arrived in Copalis Beach in the 1890s, and it soon became famous for razor clam digging. The Pacific razor clam is a highly sought-after shellfish found on ocean beaches from California to Alaska. The most productive beds are along the coast of Washington, from the Columbia River to Copalis Rocks, where over 38 miles (61 km) of beaches were historically worked by commercial diggers. This clam is exceptionally meaty, with a narrow, oblong shell. Washington beaches host an abundance of these clams, which can grow to 3–6 inches (8–15 cm) long and live for five years. In contrast, razor clams in Alaska may reach 11 inches (28 cm) and live up to 15 years, possibly due to colder water and slower growth rates. Popular razor clam beaches in Washington include Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis Beach, Mocrocks, and Kalaloch. During peak season, it is not unusual to have as many as 1,000 people per mile digging for clams.

The razor clam habitat on the flat beaches of southwest Washington is about 450 feet (140 m) wide, covering an estimated 2,080 acres (842 ha). In the early 1900s, these clam beds produced an average of 86,000 cases of canned clams annually. According to Washington State fishery statistics, 481,480 cases were canned between 1916 and 1927, averaging 37,037 cases per year, or 17.8 cases per acre. Each case required 30 pounds (14 kg) of raw clam meat, yielding 534 pounds (242 kg) of cleaned meat per acre annually. Illegal canning significantly impacted the beaches, with at least 35 canneries operating during the closed season in 1922, contributing to about half of the total annual output. Despite efforts by state fisheries managers in the winter of 1922-1923 to curb illegal activities, they were not entirely eliminated. The commercial fishery remained unchanged until 1942 when annual quotas were introduced. From 1946 to 1967, quotas steadily decreased, allowing digging in smaller areas. The commercial harvest declined from 7.6 million clams in 1946 to 600,000 in 1967. Meanwhile, the recreational clam fishery grew so large that sport diggers landed more clams than commercial operations. In 1983, the razor clam population suffered severe damage from a disease now known as Nuclear Inclusion Unknown (NIX). After a five-month closure, state managers found the population scarcer than ever and shut down the entire fishery for two years. In 1991, a naturally occurring marine toxin, domoic acid, infected the razor clams in Washington and Oregon, prompting another closure. In 1992, concentrations of paralytic shellfish poisoning in razor clams reached unprecedented levels. The future of Washington’s razor clam fishery remains uncertain because clam populations are still low, and digging effort can be high when the large human population participates. Read more here and here. Explore more of Copalis River and Copalis Beach here: