Dead Red Cedar Forest

Dead forest of western red cedar sticking up through a brackish-water tidal marsh at Copalis River on the Washington coast. The forest was killed during rapid subsidence accompanying the most recent Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. Tree rings from the dead trees provide evidence that the trees died sometime after the end of the A.D. 1699 growing season and before the beginning of the A.D. 1700 growing season. This age is consistent with the date of this earthquake based on a tsunami that was recorded in Japanese historical records. The forest in the background is above the highest tides.