322 Years Ago This Week: Cascadia Tsunami Hits Oregon Coast, Washington Coast - A history of coastal geologic history: how scientists uncovered the event
Published 02/05/21 at 7:56 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff
(Oregon Coast) – Parts of the central Oregon coast are thick with a new – yet extremely old – sight. 4,000-year-old ghost forests have popped up in numerous sections as sand levels there get scoured out by winter storms and the recent king tides.
(Above: ghost forest stump at Seal Rock)
These ghost forests are older and much more interesting than those that show year-round at Neskowin. Those at Neskowin are only 2,000 years old, while many of those found around the Newport area right now are 4,000 years or more in age. They are sometimes spooky in appearance, and for their reminder of what climate change is capable of. Then their origin story is a mind-bending trip back in time filled with interesting scientific twists and turns.