A distinct set of place names found within the Columbia-Pacific region echo, it seems, a tendency toward the extreme.

There are exclamations of awe and endearing statements of harmony with the land and water. And then there are the gloomy names that make visitors’ heads turn.

I’m talking here about the signs that greet drivers from the north on approach to the Columbia River, the tall block letters that read “Dismal Nitch,” among others, mostly unnoticed by locals but often a source of interest upon first read.

At Cape Disappointment State Park, there is a sandy hollow between headlands by the name of Dead Man’s Cove. The name doesn’t seem to be drawn from anyone in particular, but given the region’s long history of maritime peril, there’s logic enough.

But despite its dreary title, the cove is the enchanting site of one of the Long Beach Peninsula’s few sea stacks, a nearshore rock that houses roots of an unlikely evergreen. It’s settled in the center of a short, sandy stretch of shoreline.

Following years of closure, the trail that leads to this cove is now once again open to foot traffic, as is a trail that continues onto the base of Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.

But this place continues in a constant state of change. Signs point to a second tree that once stood on the cove’s sea stack — so approach with caution.