The Neskowin Ghost Forest is a group of ancient Sitka spruce stumps exposed on the Oregon coast near Proposal Rock, visible when winter storms and low tide strip away beach sand. Many stumps are more than 2,000 years old and came from a coastal rain forest whose trees were already mature when they were buried. Their wood endured because salt water slowed decay. Evidence points to the forest’s death and burial through abrupt land lowering along the Cascadia subduction zone, though some geologists argue advancing dunes buried it gradually. Along with similar sites in Oregon and Washington, it helps reveal major shoreline change and Cascadia’s seismic past.