From lowest lows to highest highs — here’s what king tides looked like in SLO County

The cypress trees along Morro Bay have seen tides come and go over the years — but as sea levels rise, they taste saltwater at the roots more often.

In November, December and January the Earth, Moon and Sun align in a way that amplifies tidal gravitational pull on the ocean, resulting in the highest highs and lowest lows of the year: what is known as king tides.

King tides hit San Luis Obispo County over the weekend in a dramatic display that some scientists say are a sample of what normal tide levels could look like in a few decades as sea levels rise due to climate change.

The higher sea levels will have impacts on natural habitat, and what humans have built along the shore, they say.

Near the Morro Bay Natural History Museum on Dec. 4, the tides at their highest point of 5.7 feet lapped at the bottom of the cypress trees along the coastline, before falling back to a low of -0.9 feet later that day.

For those who missed the natural phenomenon this time around, San Luis Obispo County will next see king tides on Jan. 1 through Jan. 3.

David Middlecamp

The Tribune

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David Middlecamp is a photojournalist and third-generation Cal Poly graduate who has covered the Central Coast region since the 1980s. A career that began developing and printing black-and-white film now includes an FAA-certified drone pilot license. He also writes the history column “Photos from the Vault.”