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

Driftwood can be formed in various ways, such as

• When a tree or large tree branch washes 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.
• Remains of wrecked wooden ships and boats.
• Unwanted ship's dunnage thrown overboard.
• Miscellaneous wooden objects discarded into water from shore.
• Remains of lost or jettisoned cargo.
• Remains of buildings and their contents washed into the sea by floods, storms and tsunamis.

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 (of the sort derived naturally from parts of trees) 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"^* in Crater Lake, Oregon. It is a full sized tree that has been bobbing vertically in the lake for more than a century. Due to the cold water temperature 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.

External links

• Image of driftwood, much of it remains of sawn planks