Thor’s Well

Thor’s Well (named after the Norse god of thunder) is an incredible natural hole, located off the coast of Cape Perpetua in Oregon, USA.

The huge well is actually a hole, about 20 feet deep that believed to have started out as a sea cave; the top entrance to the cave worn into the basalt coastline; the cave’s other entrance, at the bottom of the hole, leads toward the sea. At low tide, the waves slosh back and forth within the cave, visible to visitors peering down into the hole from the edge.

During a winter storm or high tide, Thor’s Well fills from the bottom, occasionally shooting up spray as the waves slam against the rocks. Waves wash over the hole, too, seeming to drain down into it. The effect is a seemingly infinite cycle of draining and refilling.

The natural phenomenon of water filling the well from below, then shoot millions of tiny drops from it, is quite spectacular. While Thor’s Well has become a popular and a thrill-seeking photographer’s dream, it can be incredibly dangerous.