Slip Point sits on the southern shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the eastern end of Clallam Bay on the Olympic Peninsula, about 39 miles (63 km) west-northwest of Port Angeles and 0.7 miles (1 km) northeast of the community of Clallam Bay, Washington. The point derives its name from frequent landslides caused by a conspicuous formation of fragmented rock. In 1791, Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper named the feature Punta de Rojas (Red Point). However, as with many Spanish names, it was not generally adopted by later British explorers. A 1904 geological reconnaissance by the US Geological Survey mentioned Slip Point. The fragmented rock forms part of a steeply dipping sandstone layer that marks the boundary between the Clallam Formation to the east and the Pysht Formation to the west. The Pysht Formation, formed during the Oligocene, comprises massive gray to olive-gray mudstone and sandy siltstone, with interbedded conglomerate and sandstone exposed as sea cliffs and wave-cut platforms. In Clallam Bay, it is buried beneath alluvial deposits from the Clallam River. The Clallam Formation, from the Oligocene to the Miocene, overlays Eocene basalts and older rocks. It comprises conglomerates, sandstones, and shales rich in fossils and coal seams. Discovered in 1862 by J.K. Thorndike, these seams were mined by the Phoenix Coal Mining Company in 1867. Occurring at intervals of 12 to 100 feet (4–30 m), they produced some of the finest coal in Washington until mining was halted by a fault. The formation is well exposed between Clallam Bay and Pillar Point, where thin-bedded, erosion-resistant sandstones yield abundant fossils. Clallam Bay, named for a bight at the mouth of the Clallam River, stretches about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) between Slip Point to the east and Sekiu Point to the west and was once the site of an ancient Klallam village.

Before European arrival, the Klallam—a Coast Salish people—inhabited the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula and parts of Vancouver Island across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Their livelihood centered on salmon fishing, with virtually all Pacific salmon species available, whether passing through the strait or spawning in local streams. They used trolling, netting, and spearing, while lattice weirs with single platforms were the common traps, each village headman controlling the primary weir. Renowned for their martial prowess, the Klallam—whose name means ‘strong people’—were considered fierce warriors by neighboring communities. Every village displayed enemy heads on tall poles. Although most conflicts stemmed from revenge, they occasionally conducted slave raids on nearby villages and as far afield as Puget Sound. At early 19th‑century contact, thirteen winter villages dotted the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. European exploration began with Juan Pérez in 1774 and Captain James Cook in 1778, followed by maritime fur traders. In 1789, Captain Robert Gray reached Clallam Bay, trading in knives, buttons, and copper. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver met the Klallam and noted their indifference to Europeans. In 1855, they signed the Point No Point Treaty, ceding their lands and agreeing to move to the Skokomish Reservation in exchange for aid—though they never relocated. By the 1880s, Clallam Bay was a steamboat stop. West Clallam (now Sekiu) was founded by A.J. Martin, who built a salmon cannery. The local economy boomed when the Pacific Tanning Extract Company began producing leather tanning extract in 1887; by 1893, demand had collapsed, forcing many to turn to fishing and logging. In 1905, a light station was established, connected by a catwalk to the lightkeeper’s residence. In 1951, a skeleton tower replaced the original fog house and light tower; it was automated in 1977. Around 2000, the light was discontinued and replaced by a buoy. The lightkeeper’s residence remains part of Community Beach County Park.

Dense, temperate old-growth rainforests on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula were largely overlooked until railroads from Port Angeles mills expanded westward in the early 20th century. The expansion of logging railroads removed the need to cut timber near major waterways. Initially, many lines ended at coastal log dumps where timber was sorted, rafts assembled, and logs towed to mills. Coastal communities such as Clallam Bay grew rapidly as the Clallam River’s mouth provided an ideal dump. Simultaneously, the timber industry revolutionized its methods with high-lead yarding. This technique combined the power of steam or diesel donkey engines with overhead cables and blocks, speeding logging and allowing tree harvest in steep, previously inaccessible ravines. The industry then boomed. During the first world war, loggers harvested spruce for aircraft construction; in the 1920s, pulpwood demand surged; and from the second world war through the 1970s, market forces and federal policies opened vast public lands to logging. Advances in high-lead yarding, chainsaws, and trucks made previously overlooked areas profitable. Today, nearly all old-growth forest in the Clallam River watershed has been clearcut, destroying much salmon-spawning habitat, while second-growth forests dominate. The Clallam River, over 15.7 miles (25.3 km) long, drains a watershed of 19,914 acres (8,059 ha). In 1952, authorities removed 21 historic log jams to improve fish passage, and in 2011, the Western Strait of Juan de Fuca Habitat Conservation Plan identified and prioritized floodplain, riparian, and nearshore habitats critical to salmon and steelhead productivity and survival. Read more here and here. Explore more of Slip Point and Clallam Bay here: