Bare Tree #111
Carl Washburn State Park, Oregon
2023
A well-weathered tree stump on the beach displays a nicely arranged collect of rocks. We saw a number of these firmly anchored tree stumps on beaches in this part of Oregon. It seems strange to see them out on a sandy beach with tides washing in and out. It turns out, according to what I read recently, that they are the result of a huge earthquake that happened some 1,200 years ago, causing the shoreline to drop many feet. That they are there is strange enough. That they’ve been there 1,200 years without rotting away is even stranger. I guess saltwater is a good preservative.