Ancient forest submerged in Gulf off Ala coast

Ancient forest submerged in Gulf off Ala coast

Sixty feet beneath the green waves of the Gulf of Mexico, 10 miles from the nearest land, stands an ancient forest of giant trees.

Covered in dense carpets of sea anemones, crawling with spidery arrow crabs and toadfish, the sprawling stumps of massive cypress trees spread across the seafloor.

Unmistakable to eyes that have seen the cypress growing today in the swamps of the Gulf Coast, the trunks bear the jagged, craggy outline that is the hallmark of the species. Away from each stump lies another clue, a telltale ring of cypress knees, the knobby wood outgrowths believed to help the trees survive in the soupy mud of the South's river deltas.

The trees run along a small drop off along the Gulf's bottom south of the Fort Morgan peninsula. For hundreds of yards

The information is scant due to the secrecy some have chosen to maintain but if true this is a marvelous find.

I thought I'd post this for your viewing/reading pleasure. After reading through this it dawned on me that many in the scientific community seem at odds with the age of the Gulf of Mexico in certain locations. But here again we get those 9,000 to 10,000 years B.C. range.

I have another large in depth thread almost ready for the posting over in the Ancient Civilizations thread which will closely be related to this topic but for now this one will stand on it's own in this forum...

As always.
Stay tuned.

I have a question....beyond the sheer mind boggle factor of yet another major find dating to that magic period of time...

Why the major secrecy? At first, I thought back to the show I watched for awhile of the guys who made a very healthy living by recovering logs from the river channels which sank over the years and going well back into the 1800's. Apparently, that wood remains usable and insanely valuable for creating fine furniture and such.

If the logs this story describes could somehow still sit as recoverable wood, as those guys do on the show I mention, then secrecy makes sense. I believe I recall them talking 6 figure numbers on single logs they dredged, depending on what type and age. These would be so much more...but could they be viable after so much time? Wouldn't they be petrified in some way?

If the wood isn't recoverable in a commercial way, why keep everything so secret? I mean the article admits Katrina may have uncovered it...and the next major storm could bury it all, all over again. So, if that happens, the secrecy has insured only a handful ever saw what may never be seen bare again in our lifetimes. ??

Seems ...wrong somehow.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I know how you feel. For now I'll take the story at face value but I can't imagine what financial gain other than fishing would compel somebody to make a story like this up

reply to post by SLAYER69


Great find s/f for you

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I would imagine the secrecy is due to a very good fishing spot.
Fishermen and locals don't like revealing those places.

Thanks everybody for the replies and thoughts, I thought it was interesting

I'm not surprised at all that the underwater forest is keep secret! As kdog said it's a good fishing spot, plus I think it is a precaution to try and preserve the area. (Hurricane Isaac also uncovered an old shipwreck. I saw a pic posted on a news website of a boy holding a broken off piece of it in his hand. Ugh.)

Found a video posted to al.com by the article's author. (sorry couldn't find it on youtube) The place looks "fragile", so it's no wonder the locals don't want scuba tourist swarming the place.

Here are a couple of photos also posted (More photos here):
Peering over the edge of an ancient cypress stump covered in sea anemones, a group red snapper can be seen patrolling a forest once occupied by bears, alligators and beavers. (Ben Raines/Press-Register)

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A stump the size of a compact car looms in the distance along an ancient river channel. (Ben Raines/Press-Register)

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Here is a video that includes some shots from forest stumps that are still on the beach (2,000 years old). It also shows video of the shipwreck "Rachel". fox10tv.com

My husband & I camp out on Fort Morgan every year for vacation. Next time we are down I'll ask about the forest, see if I can get any more info!

Thanks for the thread Slayer!!!