Portage is a ghost town and former settlement on Turnagain Arm in Alaska , about 47 miles ( 76 km ) south of Anchorage . This town was destroyed almost entirely in the 1964 Alaska earthquake when the ground in the area sank about six feet ( 1.8 m ) , putting most of the town below high tide level . All that remains today are the ruins of a few buildings and a " ghost forest " of trees that died after salt water inundated their root systems . Where there was once a town there is now only a railroad and road junction linking the Seward Highway and the Alaska Railroad to Portage Glacier park and the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel , which leads to Whittier
1964 Alaska earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
Portage, Anchorage