This downright spectacular oddity was until about 30 years ago a rare sight in Neskowin, but you may not know just how spectacular it is unless you know what it is you're looking at.

They look somewhat like old, ragged pilings leftover from something manmade - but they are, in fact, stumps of a forest almost 2000 years ago or so. As many as 100 are sometimes visible in various shapes and sizes. Scientists that actually studied them closely found that around 1900 years ago, the landscape changed rather quickly - in geologic terms - over a period of decades. Sand, sea or muck covered this forest entirely, killing them. This wound up preserving them, rather than destroying and scattering them as natural erosion might've done.

There's a problem with the usual explanation about these ghost forests: most publications wrongly point to some sudden earthquake. That's not what happened here. See Explanations of Neskowin Ghost Forest Wrong, Say Oregon Coast Geologists

There are similar stumps periodically visible near Newport, although these are quite rare. Other ghost forests sometimes appear south of Newport, in Cape Lookout, Rockaway, Arch Cape and Hug Point. These are seasonal, while the Neskowin stumps are year-round.

See more about Neskowin's stumps and the danger to them. How to Find Other Ghost Forests of the Oregon Coast