Willapa Bay is located is the southwest corner of Washington. It is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Long Beach Peninsula to the west. The site is in essence, a giant mud flat. According to the Willapa Bay Chamber of Commerce, it is one of the most productive areas for shellfish in the world.

At first, organisms were very sparse. Then, we began to find many clams and some crustaceans. The selection of intertidal fish was fairly limited and included a single type of flat fish that has yet to be identified.