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Oregon Coast Show Looks at Central Coast Oddities
(Newport, Oregon) - KPXG TV’s “The Oregon Coast Show” is digging a bit deeper into the central Oregon coast this Thursday – quite literally. The episode running Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. will spotlight something a little outside the realm of normal tourism for the coast: the geologic oddities of Neskowin and Newport that tell ominous tales of tsunamis, enormous earthquakes and entire forests getting swallowed by shuddering earth. Reporter Cindy Hanson met with BeachConnection.net editor Andre’ Hagestedt and talked about Neskowin’s “ghost forest” – the remnants of what is believed to be a massive earthquake some 2,000 years ago, which sent a large chunk of forest plunging 25 feet or more into the surf and mud.
The theory is that either a tsunami brought the sand in or the earthquake rattled up so much soil and sand it covered the forest. The other dynamic here is that these were obviously lopped off by some enormous force - which scientists believe is a tsunami either immediately after the initial event, or one such as the wave that wiped out these shores in 1700. Historical data seems to indicate these stumps only made their appearance in the last 100 to 200 years through natural erosion, although no one knows exactly why. El Nino years like this past winter, 1998, and 1983 scour the beaches of their sand and leave these objects more visible. There are similar stumps periodically visible near Newport, although these are quite rare. They were, until recently, still visible at Moolack Beach, according to Newport fossil expert Guy DiTorrice. When these appear, they look more like giant logs or root systems sticking out of the sand.
DiTorrice said these have been determined to be victims of the same mechanism as the Neskowin stumps, but the ones at Moolack are from the earthquake and tsunami of 1700. Geologic data has proven that a massive undersea quake just off Oregon’s shores created not only a huge tsunami which reached all the way to Japan, but it too abruptly dropped sections of the shoreline quite a ways.
This data is matched by stories of the tsunami handed down from natives of the Oregon coast and Japan at the time. One example of this event in 1700 is consistently visible sticking out of a cliff in Nye Beach, just beneath the Sylvia Beach Hotel. The ancient stumps first got massive media attention in 1998, after central coast geologist Roger Hart began researching them. He stumbled across them one day on the beach with his family and was captivated, delving deeply into this subject. Eventually, he even had them carbon dated, and is credited with the bulk of the knowledge about them, if not the entire findings. The July 13 show will provide many views of the Neskowin “ghost forest,” and even features a moment where Hagestedt is clowning around and sitting inside one. At one point, Hagestedt points to ragged diagonal lines on the landmark Proposal Rock, a sea stack on the tide line at Neskowin. This is often evidence of cataclysmic events as well, he tells the crew.
Hagestedt reports the filming was filled with many silly jokes and a few minor pranks on each other. Plus, he had a strange experience where something unknown hiding in the sand bit him (read more about that here). Hanson, who is also the publicist for Oregon Coast Aquarium, could not identify the creature. Luckily, Hagestedt reports, just as the crew was ready to start filming the segments with him, the wind and rain let up. They had a half hour to an hour worth of calm conditions.
It was in 1998, '99 and 2002 that Hagestedt photographed some of these stumps in Neskowin, including one in 1999 with a distinctively strange shape. "Now, after almost ten years of being uncovered in varying degrees, these have barnacles on them," Hagestedt said. "What blew me away was how different some of them looked. And during the shooting, I was really intrigued about finding that one particularly strange looking one. I can't say I found it, however, although one sort of reminded me of it, but with sand covering most of it now with a lot of barnacles on it. I doubt this is it, however."
Producer Rick Gibson said the segment will be the third feature on the July 13 episode. “Our first segment is a story about a possible National Heritage Area designation for Astoria and surrounding Columbia River communities,” Gibson said. "Our second story captures the tsunami drill event in Lincoln City on May 31.” The Oregon Coast Show airs every Thursday, 7:30 p.m. on KPXG TV (PAX) from Portland. Viewers watch on Comcast CH-5, over-the-air on CH-22 and on Dish TV on CH-22. Viewers who have Dish TV on the coast can also watch on CH-22. To find out what's on "The Oregon Coast Show" from week to week, people can visit their website at: www.oregoncoastshow.com. The show reaches 1.1 million households in the Portland broadcast market area. |
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They
look somewhat like old, ragged pilings leftover from something manmade
- but they are, in fact, stumps of a forest. As many as 100 are
sometimes visible in various shapes and sizes. It's theorized that
around 2,000 years ago a massive, cataclysmic earthquake abruptly
dropped this forest possibly more than 25 feet. Then, somehow, they
were preserved by sand and mud, rather then being destroyed and
scattered, as natural erosion might've done.
Filming
the episode was no easy matter, with a heavy rainfall battering
the crew, in spite of it being mid June. Cameraman Scott Gibson
had to cover all his equipment with large plastic bags, creating
a rather odd and amusing look on the beach that day. Brendan Kane
assisted Gibson, and all four had to muddle through Hawk Creek,
which was rather high that day and almost dangerously strong in
some areas.
It
was a challenge, to say the least, said Hanson. “The biggest
technical challenge that day was the moisture,” she said.
“Did I say moisture? I meant buckets of water pouring out
of the sky, gusting winds as we trudged through a swift creek and
slipped on rocks while the water filled our shoes and soaked our
pants. Brendan helped Scott carry the camera gear across the creek.
Scott, a veteran Oregon videographer, came prepared and wrapped
the camera in plastic bags, which seemed to do the trick. Another
technical challenge is finding an angle to speak where the gusty
wind doesn’t hit the microphone.
“The
main challenge for me as a producer/interviewer was simply to NOT
LOOK MISERABLE. Thanks to many years of radio, I have a well-developed
capacity to shove my internal ‘stuff’ aside and let
the show go on. Plus if you have an irrepressible goof-off reflex,
and some willing cohorts, you just go with the flow and have fun.”
RELATED STORIES
Oregon Coastal Village Wows with Mystic Vibe, Ghost Forest Neskowin is different in many ways, including its geologic features
Outdoor Fish Market Starts On N. Oregon Coast Pacific Oyster hosts the market throughout the summer
Ghostly Tourism on Oregon’s Coast Hunting tales of ghosts is another fun pasttime on the coast
Hiking It and Roughing It on Oregon’s Coast A look at trails and rugged campgrounds
Some Oregon Spots Are Hidden; Some Have Secrets A tour of unusual details from Manzanita to Florence
Geologic Wonders of Oregon Beaches Make Freaky History Lesson Beneath the sands and deep inside the cliffs, there's more to the coast
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