Tourists flock to unique 'ghost forest' exposed by storm

When a major storm eroded a US beach it revealed the still intact remnants of an ancient forest of enormous sitka spruce trees.

Hundreds of the stumps now dot the beach at Neskowin in Oregon, offering a glimpse into a time around 200 years ago when the enormous evergreens grew up to 60m high.

Scientists believe an earthquake or tsunami destroyed most of the forest before covering it in sand over the course of hundreds of years.

But remarkably many of the stumps survived and remain in the soil where they first grew millenia ago.

Before the storm, locals would occasionally see part of a stump poking out above the surface of the water but it was not until 1998 that the true scale of the once mighty forest was exposed.

Tourists are now drawn to the so-called ghost forest which may be the only of its kind in the world.