Driftwood

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

For other uses, see Driftwood (disambiguation).

Mass of driftwood near Poirua New Zealand

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach, of a sea or river, by the action of winds, tides or waves. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance.

Driftwood can be formed:

• from a tree or tree branch washed into the ocean (or another large body of water), usually because of strong winds, as in a storm, or due to flooding. The tree dies and the dead wood shelters and feeds fish, birds, and other aquatic species, as it floats in the ocean. Gribbles, shipworms, and bacteria decompose the wood and gradually turn it into nutrients that are reintroduced to the food web. Sometimes, the partially decomposed wood washes ashore and shelters birds, plants, and other species. The driftwood can become part of the foundation of sand dunes.
• from remains of wrecked wooden ships and boats.
• from unwanted ship's dunnage thrown overboard.
• from wooden objects discarded into water from shore.
• from lost or jettisoned cargo.
• from buildings and their contents washed into the sea by floods, storms and tsunamis.

Pine branches washed up on the shore at Cape Henlopen State Park

Driftwood carried by Arctic rivers was the main, or sometimes only, source of wood for some Inuit and other Arctic populations living north of the tree-line until they came into regular contact with European traders.

Many people use driftwood as parts of decorative furniture or other art forms, and it is a popular element in the scenery of fish tanks.

One famous piece of driftwood is the "Old man of the lake"[1] in Crater Lake, Oregon. This is a full sized tree that has been bobbing vertically in the lake for more than a century. Due to the cold water of the lake, the tree has been well preserved.

According to Norse mythology, the first humans were Ask and Embla - formed out of two pieces of driftwood, an ash and an elm.

[edit] Driftwood sculpture

Sculpture made of driftwood has been constructed on beaches or mudflats. One location has been at Kullaberg, Sweden, where Lars Vilke created a controversial driftwood artwork in the year 1980. Sculptures were created on the Emeryville, California mudflat and marsh area of San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s.

[edit] Gallery

Driftwood in a work of art: Untitled 1963 mixed media work on canvas by Jane Frank

Driftwood caught on a weir of the River Avon, Bath, England

Driftwood overlooking the Juan de Fuca Strait