I only relatively recently became aware of the following story which I found utterly fascinating and a bit haunting. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina moved voluminous amounts of sand in one of undoubtedly many regions of the near-coastal shallows of Gulf of Mexico. This action exposed something rather remarkable in this one special place located about 60 feet under the water's surface and about 10 miles off the coast of Alabama in the undersea extension of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. The last time this forest was above water was about 12,000 years ago before the rapidly melting glaciers of that era flooded the world's ocean's with their water and consequently drowned this forest. About 4,000 years ago the world's ocean levels stabilized at their current levels. This sunken forest was then buried by sand thus protecting it from both bacteriological decay as well as attack by worms and such. Obviously, this wood is now under attack by all the above sorts of organisms. Be sure to watch the entire short video below whose player is located beneath the following still images.
Large swamp cypress root base.
Tangle of cypress roots.
One such cypress tree base saw Katrina currents excavate beneath it creating a sheltering hollow for these fish.
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