Mysterious Underwater Forest of Alabama
An Underwater Forest
Just over 24 km’s off of the coast of Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico there is one of nature’s biggest mysteries lying under 60 ft of water. This relic of ages past is a 50,000-year-old forest that was once millennia ago situated on dry land, but now lies at the bottom of the ocean. Scientists believe that the forest has lain hidden for all of this time, preserved from decay by up to 10 feet of sediment that was scooped off of the ocean floor during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Since then hundreds of adventures divers have enjoyed this hidden wonder, with one of them even going as far as to call it a “fairy world”. Environmental reporter Ben Raines even described the experience of diving down to it as:
“You get down there, and there are these cypress trees, and there are logs lying on the bottom, and you can touch them and peel the bark off. It was an otherworldly experience where you knew you were in this ancient place.”
Watch the Video and Experience the Wonder for Yourself!
This primeval underwater forest off the coast of Alabama contains trees that are so well-preserved that when they are cut so that we can run tests on them, they still smell like fresh Cypress sap. You can experience the wonder of exploring this amazing part of natural maritime history in video format below:
The stumps of these trees span an area of 1.3 square kilometres, but time is running out for them because now that it has been exposed to the elements wood-burrowing marine animals are slowly destroying it.
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