11/21/2023 0 Comments Washington state scenery cape horning![]() But by the end of the month, more of these forests showed up near Waldport, in the Thiel Creek area. Looking for these was interrupted in December by the massive windstorm and its aftermath. These oddities look like twisted, tortured shapes, sticking out of the sand, or like leftovers of pilings made by humans. These are 1000-year-old remnants of what many call a “ghost forest.” Their appearance is practically a yearly occurrence, and fall's storms were what geomorphologist Jonathan Allan said was their debut this season. By November, weird stumps began showing in the sand of Cape Lookout State Park. It all began in the late fall, when geologists started noticing sand levels getting much lower rather quickly. By the end of March, maybe sooner, you’ll see these ancient treasures covered up and beach sand levels close to normal. ![]() Then, when the season calms down a bit, the sand levels return, because the waves are not very big and the wind blows the grains around. All this action churns up sand beneath the waves, and sand gets sucked back out into the ocean. Storms bring enormous waves that are powerful beyond imagining, known to crunch sturdy basalt structures or move boulders, as well as toss gargantuan logs of timber as if they were toys in a kid’s bathtub. The cause of it all is the storm action of this past season. Then, when stormy conditions subside and the weather gets better, more people hit the beaches, more eyes are on the sand, and more wacky stuff gets spotted. First, the stormy waves scour out the sand. Good beachcombing conditions after a rather tumultuous run of winter storms has made a lot of the finds possible. Oregon’s coast has become a laundry list of weird finds on its beaches recently. Dozens of fossils, millions of years old, begin to reemerge in the sand. A mail truck nearly 100 years old appears near Waldport. ![]() Strange reddish rock formations pop up that look like something from a sci-fi film. Historically significant cannon show up a few miles south of Cannon Beach, apparently the missing armaments from a ship 150 years old whose first cannon gave the town its name. (Oregon Coast) - A shipwreck suddenly appears in the sand near Coos Bay. Ghost forest at Arch Cape in February 2008 (photo Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium) The Science Behind Oregon Coast's Recent Treasures
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