The stumps were unearthed when turbulent storms swept away sand during the winter of 1997 – 1998 . It is one of over thirty ghost forests along the Oregon and Washington Coast , though many appear as flat roots and not stumps . Most notably , Washington 's ghost forest of red cedars was integral to the discovery of the Cascadia fault line . These ghost forests are evidence of significant , rapid changes in coastline – often due to seismic events such as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake . The stumps at Neskowin are 2,000 years old , according to carbon dating . While living , the trees that make up the Neskowin Ghost Forest were similar to present-day coastal rain forest . They stood 150 – 200 feet high and were at least 200 years old when buried . However , it ’s difficult to determine when or how the trees died , because it occurred before written history in the region . It was originally believed that these trees died slowly , as the roots were gradually submerged in saltwater due to changes in the sea levels . Yet research by geologists revealed that the soil , still present at the roots of the stumps , was buried abruptly – indicating a more sudden and dramatic event , like an earthquake , as the cause
1700 Cascadia earthquake
1700 Cascadia earthquake
Neskowin Ghost Forest