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ryan b. anderson

Environmental, cultural, and coastal anthropology
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Seawall at Tamarack, March 2018. Photo by Ryan B. Anderson.

Erosion and sand loss at Tamarack State Beach

August 23, 2026

I took the photograph above back in March 2018 at Tamarack. That was when the beach was full of sand after a relatively recent replenishment. I went back to the same spot during my most recent trip. I couldn’t take a photo from the same location because the sand where I was standing in 2018 was gone. Here’s what things looked like in 2026:

Similar location, 2026. Photo by Ryan B. Anderson.

The image above was taken several feet back and a little lower than the 2018 photo. But this one shows how much sand was pulled away due to high tides and south swells in the past few weeks. Next time I’m down I am going to try to rephotograph the 2018 image again, this time with a few more cues and details to help me line things up. Depending on how the sand looks, I may need a ladder!

In Coastal Anthropology, Photography Tags Tamarack, coastal erosion, California
← Tamarack erosion and seawallTamarack Parking lot in 1959 and 2026 →

Latest Posts

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20260812-444A7730-2BW-web.jpg
August 23, 2026
Tamarack erosion and seawall
August 23, 2026
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August 23, 2026
Erosion and sand loss at Tamarack State Beach
August 23, 2026
Erosion and sand loss at Tamarack State Beach
August 23, 2026

I took the photograph above back in March 2018 at Tamarack. That was when the beach was full of sand after a relatively recent replenishment. I went back to the same spot during my most recent trip. I couldn’t take a photo from the same location because the sand where I was standing in 2018 was gone. Here’s what things looked like in 2026:

Read more →
August 23, 2026
Tamarack Parking lot in 1959 and 2026
August 22, 2026
Tamarack Parking lot in 1959 and 2026
August 22, 2026

Here’s another photo from my recent trip down the Southern California. I headed down in part because my old home beach of Tamarack was in the news. Check out some of the coverage via the SF Gate here, and NBC7 here.

Long story short, high tides and large waves from a summer south swell swept a lot of sand off the beach at Tamarack. It also undermined the riprap that was protecting the parking lot. In some of the coverage, people express concern about the loss of sand from the beach. Others say that this is how the beach actually used to look years ago.

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August 22, 2026
California Coast Rephotographic Project: Carlsbad Seawall
August 20, 2026
California Coast Rephotographic Project: Carlsbad Seawall
August 20, 2026

After Tamarack State Beach made the news for losing a bunch of it’s sand in the last couple of weeks, I managed to get down there for a few comparative photographs. The composite above shows a stretch of the seawall that’s at the end of Sycamore Avenue in Carlsbad. This one was pretty easy to relocate and photograph. I found the historical image, which dates to the late 1980s or early 1990s, via the Carlsbad Library:

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August 20, 2026
IMG_4984-Blacks Beach DEC 2005.JPG
August 9, 2026
Black's Beach, December 2005
August 9, 2026
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August 9, 2026
CRW_2451_RT8_BW-small.jpg
August 9, 2026
Wilder Ranch in 2005
August 9, 2026
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August 9, 2026
The Cliff House in SF
August 4, 2026
The Cliff House in SF
August 4, 2026

Here’s another spot I’d like to rephotograph up at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The photograph above was taken by William Henry Jackson between 1880 and 1910. It’s from the 1974 monograph of Jackson’s work that was edited by Beaumont Newhall and Diana E. Adkins (published by Morgan & Morgan). This is the second Cliff House, so it had to be taken after 1896.

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August 4, 2026
Location Scouting: Lover's Point, Pacific Grove CA
August 4, 2026
Location Scouting: Lover's Point, Pacific Grove CA
August 4, 2026
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August 4, 2026
Wadell Creek Beach, 12/1/24.
August 4, 2026
Wadell Creek Beach, 12/1/24.
August 4, 2026
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August 4, 2026
Asilomar, July 2026
August 1, 2026
Asilomar, July 2026
August 1, 2026
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August 1, 2026

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