The Neskowin Ghost Forest is the remnants of a

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to just over tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth- ...

forest on the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

of the United States. The stumps were likely created when an earthquake of the

Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary, about off the Pacific coast of North America, that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is capable of producing 9.0+ m ...

abruptly lowered the trees, that were then covered by mud from landslides or debris from a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

. Although many local geologists believe this ghost forest (and others on the Pacific NW coast) were caused by gradual dune encroachment, meaning sand dunes built up and covered the Sitka trees – not in an abrupt drop.Hart, R., & Peterson, C. (2007). Late‐Holocene buried forests on the Oregon Coast. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32(2), 210-229. Many of the stumps are over 2,000 years old, preserved by the salt water, which does not favor lignin-decomposing fungus.

History

The stumps were unearthed when turbulent storms swept away sand during the winter of 1997–1998. It is one of over thirty

ghost forest Ghost forests are areas of dead trees in former forests, typically in coastal regions where Sea level rise, rising sea levels or tectonic shifts have altered the height of a land mass. Forests located near the coast or estuary, estuaries may also ...

s along the Oregon and Washington Coast, though many appear as flat roots and not stumps. Most notably, Washington's ghost forest of red cedars was integral to the discovery of the Cascadia fault line. These ghost forests are evidence of significant, rapid changes in coastline – often due to seismic events such as the

1700 Cascadia earthquake The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26, 1700, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7–9.2. The megathrust earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca plate from mid-Vancouver Island, south along the P ...

. The stumps at Neskowin are 2,000 years old, according to

carbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was ...

. While living, the trees that make up the Neskowin Ghost Forest were similar to present-day coastal rain forest. They stood high and were at least 200 years old when buried. However, it's difficult to determine when or how the trees died, because it occurred before written history in the region. It was originally believed that these trees died slowly, as the roots were gradually submerged in saltwater due to changes in the sea levels. Yet research by geologists revealed that the soil, still present at the roots of the stumps, was buried abruptly – indicating a more sudden and dramatic event, like an earthquake, as the cause. The ghost forest is near Proposal Rock. It is part of the

Neskowin Beach State Recreation Site Neskowin Beach State Recreation Site is a state park in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. See also *List of Oregon state parks *Neskowin Ghost Forest The Neskowin Ghost Forest ...

. The best time to see the stumps is low tide, during winter (due to January, February and March bringing the lowest tides of the year.)

Gallery

File:Neskowin Ghost Forest August 2017.jpg, Neskowin Ghost Forest in August 2017 File:Neskowin Ghost Forest Stump Close Up.jpg, Large tree stump protruding from beach sand File:Neskowin Stumps at Proposal Rock.jpg, Tree stumps visible with Proposal Rock in background.

References

External links

Vimeo video of the Neskowin Ghost Forest

YouTube video of the Neskowin Ghost Forest

{{coord, 45.09773, N, 123.98917, W, type:landmark_region:US-OR, display=title Oregon Coast Tillamook County, Oregon Former forests Effects of earthquakes 1st-century establishments

History

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links