Driftwood

[drift-wood]

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris.

In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and food for birds, fish 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, where it also shelters birds, plants, and other species. Driftwood can become the foundation for sand dunes.

Driftwood is created from:

whole or part trees that have been washed into the ocean, due to high winds, or intense flooding
buildings and their contents washed into the sea during storms
wooden objects discarded into the water from shore; known as flotsam
dropped dunnage or lost cargo; known as jetsam
remains of wrecked wooden ships and boats; part of a shipwreck

In history

According to Norse mythology, the first humans, Ask and Embla, were formed out of two pieces of driftwood, an ash and an elm, by the god Odin and his brothers, Ve and Vili.

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. Wood that is burned today in these regions mainly consists of the remains of condemned wooded structures. Driftwood is still used as kindling by some.

The "Old Man of the Lake" in Crater Lake, Oregon is a full-size 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. Driftwood can be used as part of decorative furniture or other art forms, and is a popular element in the scenery of fish tanks.

Driftwood sculpture

Sculpture made of driftwood has been constructed on beaches or mudflats.

At Kullaberg, Sweden, Lars Vilke created Nimis a driftwood artwork in the year 1980. This sculpture and two others led to the declaration of Ladonia as an independent nation.
Sculptures were created on the Emeryville, California mudflat and marsh area of San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s.
A driftwood sculpture was constructed in the Chapelle St Anne d' Arles (France) by the visitors to the exhibition "Marcher dans le pas des glaneurs" organized by "A Flots perdus" (Arlésiens artists), in March 2008.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy (sometimes called the "Green Oscars") are sculpted out of driftwood.