Robert Wampler "Exploding Whale" photographs, November, 1970

On November 9, 1970, a 45-foot, 8-ton sperm whale beached itself at Florence on the central Oregon coast. At the time, beaches were technically classified as state highways, and the disposal of the whale carcass fell under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Department of Transportation. After consulting with the U.S. Navy, the DOT decided to treat the whale carcass as they would a giant boulder and blow it up with dynamite. George Thornton, the engineer in charge of the operation, was warned by a military veteran with explosives training who happened to be on the scene that his proposed 20 cases of dynamite would be far too much for the job, that 20 sticks would do just fine. Thornton ignored his advice, and on November 12, 1970, at 3:45pm, the dynamite was detonated, throwing whale blubber over 800 feet in every direction and damaging the military veteran's car. The whale carcass, however, was only partially destroyed, leaving it to the Oregon Highway Patrol to remove the remains. It is now the policy of the Oregon State Parks Department to bury whale carcasses where they land, and if the sand is not deep enough, they are relocated to another beach. The photographs were taken sometime between November 9-12, 1970.