Day 389 – The Sunken Forest
August 29, 2010
The Sunken Forest is a very unique ecosystem found in Sailor’s Haven, on Fire Island. Surrounded by dunes, it gives the illusion of resting below sea level, hence its name. The vegetation is so abundant that it actually gets rather dark inside the forest. It’s also much cooler, something that was really appreciated after the long walk under the scorching sun.
As you can see on the photograph, trees adopt some very interesting shapes. Due to salt spraying and windy conditions, they are molded and unable to grow past a certain height. You guessed it, the height of the surrounding dunes. I enjoyed my walk there very much. The tide was so high that the whole beach was getting flooded by the incoming waves, an interesting experience.
Should you be interested in learning more about the forest, check out those two very informative videos:
Fire Island: Sunken Forest Pt.1
Fire Island: Sunken Forest Pt.2