Beachgoers find 'ghost forest' along Oregon Coast

Beachgoers during this sunny April weekend are in for a treat, thanks to Oregon's wild winter.

High winds, heavy rain and powerful surf pounding the Oregon Coast recently uncovered a ghost forest known mostly through legendary tales in the small community of Neskowin.

The ancient tree stumps are usually covered in deep sand. But recent storms washed away a great deal of the beach and once again uncovered the ancient tree stumps that locals call “the ghost forest.”

An article in the Oregon Coast Beach Connection described the ghost forest as a “downright spectacular oddity.”

“They [tree stumps] look somewhat like old, ragged pilings leftover from something manmade - but they are, in fact, stumps of a forest some 2,000 years ago or so. As many as 100 are sometimes visible in various shapes and sizes.”

Slideshow: More photos of 'ghost forest'

According to the article, the theory is that “around 2,000 years ago a massive, cataclysmic earthquake abruptly dropped this forest possibly more than 25 feet. Then, somehow, they [tree stumps] were preserved by sand and mud, rather then being destroyed and scattered, as natural erosion might've done… Either a tsunami brought the sand in or the earthquake rattled up so much soil and sand it covered the forest.”- kgw