Down in a Bowl!

Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area is a stunning day-use park located in Otter Rock, about 5 miles south of Depoe Bay and 8 miles north of Newport, along Highway 101. The park centers on a dramatic geological formation: a large, bowl-shaped cavity carved into a sandstone headland by the Pacific Ocean. This "punchbowl" likely formed when the roofs of two sea caves collapsed due to relentless wave erosion, creating a cavern open to the sky. The formation could be as old as 18 million years, shaped from soft sandstone and siltstone.