Where is Thor's Well?

Located off Cape Perpetua — a typical Pacific Northwest headland off the coast of central Oregon, Thor’s Well is a beautiful but very dangerous spectacle to behold. Thor’s Well (also known as ‘Spouting Horn’) is a salt water fountain/sinkhole, which is driven by the immense currents of the Pacific Ocean.

Thor's Well is a bowl-shaped hole carved out of the rough basalt shoreline. According to Gary Hayes, publisher of Coast Explorer Magazine, the feature likely started out as a sea cave dug out by the waves before the roof eventually collapsed, leaving openings at the top and bottom through which the ocean surges and sprays.

Thor's Well is not so different from the other features around it - rugged Cook's Chasm, a spouting horn and nearby Devil's Churn - but its circular shape and location, right against the Pacific Ocean, result in some pretty unusual behavior. At high tide, the waves roll underneath the bowl, filling it from the bottom until it bubbles out the top or bursts up in violent spray. The water then rolls back into the hole, making Thor's Well appear to fill and drain endlessly. It's fun to watch when the ocean is high, but return at low tide to see the mechanisms at work.