Pacific Beach is a community located at the mouth of Joe Creek, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Hoquiam and 11 miles (18 km) south of Moclips, Washington. Beach sands create a shallow sill that restricts circulation at the creek mouth forming an estuary. The estuary consists of a strongly stratified lagoon where freshwater overlays saline water. Joe Creek begins at an elevation of approximately 360 feet (110 m) in the southern Olympic Peninsula and flows west for about 12 miles (19 km) to the Pacific Ocean. During the Pleistocene epoch, the Olympic Mountains developed a central ice and snow complex, drained by peripheral valley glaciers. Moraines mark the positions of successive piedmont glacial lobes that advanced close to the ocean. This area is the southernmost extent of piedmont glaciation bordering the Pacific Ocean in western North America and represents the greatest expanse of glacial deposits on the Olympic Peninsula. The glacial drift, or till, has been mapped, revealing three distinct drift deposits. The Humptulips Drift, located between the Quinault River to the north and the Humptulips River to the south, extends over 12 miles (20 km) and includes most of the Joe Creek watershed. This deposit consists of glacial outwash sand and gravel, eroded from the core of the Olympic Mountains, with interspersed beds of silt and clay likely deposited in outwash plain lakes. The last glaciation ended about 16,000 years ago, exposing relatively flat land suitable for human settlement.

The Indigenous inhabitants of this area are members of the Quinault tribe, including the Chehalis subtribes of Copalis, Wynoochee, and Humptulips, who all spoke Coast Salish languages. The Quillayute, Hoh, Queets, and Quinault tribes formed a confederacy, with each tribe managing its own affairs. This league was so powerful that it controlled the territory from present-day Grays Harbor in the south to Cape Flattery in the north. The Quinault managed the southern coast and prevented Columbia River tribes from encroaching. In 1775, the Quinault encountered Europeans near Point Grenville when Bruno de Heceta‘s expedition on the frigate Santiago was attacked, resulting in the deaths of seven Spaniards and at least seven Quinault. In 1792, Captain Robert Gray discovered Grays Harbor and entered the Columbia River. Contact with Europeans and frequent intertribal interactions accelerated several epidemics in the region, beginning with smallpox in the 1770s, followed by malaria in 1829, cholera in 1836, and smallpox again in 1853. In 1855, following the creation of Washington Territory, the Quinault Treaty was signed by Chief Taholah of the Quinault, Chief How-yat’l of the Quileute, and other tribal delegates. This treaty resulted in the establishment of the Quinault Indian Reservation, a roughly triangular area located about 10 miles (16 km) north of Joe Creek. The mouth of Joe Creek was first settled in 1863 by Henry Blodgett, a pioneer trapper and hunter. He homesteaded 160 acres (65 ha) and eventually transferred part of his land to Patrick H. Roundtree. In 1903, Roundtree began developing the townsite initially named Joe Creek, which was later changed to Pacific Beach. In 1906, a hotel was built along the bluff called the Quinault Inn, which later became the Pacific Beach Hotel.

In 1942, the U.S. Navy opened a gunnery school at the Pacific Beach Hotel. Guest rooms were converted into barracks, while the hotel restaurant and ballroom became a large cafeteria for the 350 navy personnel. Other hotel spaces were transformed into classrooms and offices. In 1948, the U.S Air Force installed radar equipment for aircraft detection, with the Pacific Beach station transmitting data to a control center at Paine Field in Everett. The hotel again served as barracks and offices, with former resort cottages providing additional accommodation. In 1958, the U.S. Navy commissioned a Sound Surveillance System at the former radar station in Pacific Beach. This secret facility, ostensibly conducting oceanographic research, was actually designed to track Soviet submarines. In 1987, control of the Pacific Beach facility was transferred to the Puget Sound Naval Station at Bremerton, and later to Naval Station Everett, for use as a military training facility as well as a recreation and conference center. The current military mission involves providing operational support for a fixed signal emitter at the Electronic Warfare Tactical Training Range used by the Pacific Fleet. Commercial and residential development along the coast has led to water quality issues, particularly in the North Beach area, which extends approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Ocean Shores in the south to Moclips in the north of Joe Creek. In 2011, popular razor clam beaches were closed due to high concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria. This bacteria originates from people and animals and can result from malfunctioning septic systems, leaky sewer infrastructure, and improperly managed dog and horse manure on the beach. Read more here and here. Explore more of Joe Creek and Pacific Beach here: