Jump-off Joe was a 100-foot-tall sea stack geological formation composed of middle Miocene concretionary sandstone[1] at Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon, United States. It was a well-known tourist attraction before World War I.[2] It formed sometime before the 1880s when it was connected to the mainland, and was a major impediment walking the beach.[2] Early travelers would have to jump off the side to get over it, hence the name. Early writers claimed the site was connected with Native American mythology.[2] Natural forces separated it from the mainland in the 1890s, and its large arch collapsed in 1916.[2]
The name "Jump-Off Joe" originated from the son of Dr. John McLoughlin, Joseph. Joseph accidentally fell near the rock during a trapping expedition but managed to survive for nine more years before dying of his injuries. The rock was originally known as "The Jump-Off Where Joe Fell", before being shortened to "Jump-Off Joe".