Editing Haystack Rock (section)

==Geology==
[[File:The needles at Cannon beach.jpg|thumb|"The Needles" which are adjacent to Haystack Rock]]

Measuring {{convert|235|ft|m}} tall,<ref name="HRAR">{{cite news |author1=KGW staff |title=Haystack Rock area reopens after cougar departs from Oregon coast landmark |url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/pets-and-animals/cannon-beach-reopens-cougar-gone-haystack-rock/283-7e6d15f1-e3fd-4fe9-96e4-a522f292d025 |access-date=August 14, 2023 |work=KING 5 News (Seattle, Washington) |date=July 17, 2023}}</ref> Haystack Rock is composed of [[basalt]] and was formed by [[lava]] flows emanating from the Blue Mountains and Columbia basin about 15-17 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haystack Rock at the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/haystack-rock.htm |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> The lava flows came from massive eruptions from a source believed to be what is now the Yellowstone volcanic hotspot, and created many of the [[Oregon]] coast's natural features.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia River Basalt Group Stretches from Oregon to Idaho {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/science/columbia-river-basalt-group-stretches-oregon-idaho#overview |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> Haystack Rock was once joined to the coastline but years of erosion have since separated the monolith from the coast. Three smaller, adjacent rock formations to the south of Haystack Rock are collectively called "The Needles".

It is estimated that Haystack Rock may erode away in 2,000 to 3,000 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FRANKOWICZ |first=KATIE |date=2019-04-21 |title=Erosion is changing the face of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/04/erosion-is-changing-the-face-of-haystack-rock-in-cannon-beach.html |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=oregonlive |language=en}}</ref>