The small enclave of Twin Rocks, located just south of Rockaway Beach, found its name in a prominent landmark.

Once housing a post office and resort community, the neighborhood merged into Rockaway Beach in the 1950s. Its namesake pair of sea stacks, however, remain offshore.

On some nights when the sun falls to a certain height in the southwest, beams of light reach through the rocks’ southern arch, spanning 88 feet above the sea and 35 feet across.

From a shoreline approach at Minnehaha Street, the arched rock and its northern neighbor stand just over a half mile offshore, towering above the horizon.

These rocks are even powerful enough to sculpt nearby sands, altering the water depth as waves approach the shore.

While tides don’t recede enough to see the rocks up close, they remain a Rockaway Beach landmark, seen on local signs, businesses and resorts.

Their presence has been marked by marriage proposals, landscape photographers and generations of beachgoers, watching over the town.