Editing Driftwood

{{Short description|Wood that has washed ashore}}
{{Other uses}}

'''Driftwood''' is a [[wood]] that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of [[beach wrack]].

In some [[Dock (maritime)|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. [[Gribble]]s, [[shipworm]]s and [[bacterium|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]].

Most driftwood is the remains of [[tree]]s, in whole or part, that have been washed into the [[ocean]], due to [[flood]]ing, high winds, or other natural occurrences, or as the result of [[logging]].  There is also a subset of driftwood known as drift lumber. Drift lumber includes the remains of man-made wooden objects, such as buildings and their contents washed into the sea during storms, wooden objects discarded into the water from shore, dropped [[dunnage]] or lost [[cargo]] from ships ([[jetsam]]), and the remains of [[shipwreck]]ed wooden ships and boats ([[flotsam]]).  Erosion and wave action may make it difficult or impossible to determine the origin of a particular piece of driftwood.

Driftwood can be used as part of decorative [[furniture]] or other [[art]] forms, and is a popular element in the [[aquascaping|scenery of fish tanks]].

<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:Bois flotté.jpg|Driftwood on a pebble beach
File:Driftwood NZ.jpg|alt=|A beach on the [[West Coast, New Zealand|West Coast]] of [[New Zealand]] covered by driftwood.
File:Haliaeetus leucocephalus 33495.JPG|Driftwood provides a perch for a [[bald eagle]] on [[Fir Island (Washington)|Fir Island, Washington]].
File:Beach Driftwood Sitges Spain Sunset.jpg|Driftwood on the beach in Sitges, Spain
</gallery>

==History==
According to [[Norse mythology]], the first humans, [[Ask and Embla]], were formed out of two pieces of driftwood, an [[ash (tree)|ash]] and an [[elm]], by the god [[Odin]] and his brothers, [[Vili and Vé]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/norse-mythology.php?deity=ASK|title=Ask|website=Godchecker.com|access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref> The Vikings would cast wood into the sea before making landfall. The location of the wood would be an indication as to where to build their [[mead hall]]s. The wood used would found the [[Öndvegissúlur|high-seat pillars]] of the new hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/mythology/religion/text/practices.htm|title=Pagan Religious Practices of the Viking Age|website=Hurstwic|access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref>

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 [[Europe]]an traders. Traditional Inuit boats such as the [[kayak]] were fashioned from driftwood frames covered in skins. The Inuit classified driftwood into seven different types, each possessing its own unique material and visual properties.<ref>{{Cite journal | s2cid=30708560| doi=10.7202/1015953ar| title=Wood use and kayak construction: Material selection from the perspective of carpentry| year=2013| last1=Walls| first1=Matthew| journal=Études/Inuit/Studies| volume=36| pages=49–62| doi-access=free}}</ref> Driftwood could be used to make bows if it was straight grained and in reasonably good condition; these were reinforced with sinew cables. The Inuit even made arrows from driftwood;<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sheelandt|first1=Stéphanie|last2=Bhiry|first2=Najat|last3=Marguerie|first3=Dominique|last4=Desbiens|first4=Caroline|last5=Napartuk|first5=Minnie|last6=Desrossiers|first6=Pierre M.|date=2013|title=Inuit knowledge and use of wood resources on the west coast of Nunavik, Canada|url=https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/etudinuit/2013-v37-n1-etudinuit01423/1025259ar.pdf|journal=Études/Inuit/Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=147–174|access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref> these were often short and fitted with bone or antler foreshafts. Dry scrapings produced by working this material were collected, stored and used for the starting of fires year-round by Inuit. Wood that is burned today in these regions mainly consists of the remains of condemned wooden structures. Driftwood is still used as kindling by some. Woods with resinous qualities, such as cedar, are preferred for their lengthier burning times. {{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

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.<ref>Salinas, J., "The Old Man of the Lake," [https://web.archive.org/web/20090116011644/http://www.nps.gov/archive/crla/notes/vol27e.htm ''Nature Notes from Crater Lake National Park''], Vol. XXVII (1996).</ref>

Alice Gray, the legendary "[[Diana of the Dunes]]", who fought to preserve the Indiana Dunes,<ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. {{cite web|url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |title=South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation |access-date=2015-11-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101021140/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |archive-date=2016-01-01 }}</ref> which contain quantities of driftwood, named her cottage "Driftwood" and made all her furniture from the material.<ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1.
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes
 |title       = South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes
 |access-date  = 2012-06-11
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120913013557/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes
 |archive-date = 2012-09-13
}}
</ref>

== Uses ==
[[File:Equus eden.jpg|thumb|Driftwood sculpture of a horse by artist [[Heather Jansch]] at the [[Eden Project]]]]
[[File:Driftwood fort, Kapiti Island.jpg|thumb|Fort made of driftwood with [[Kapiti Island]] in the background]]

=== Firewood ===
The EPA includes driftwood in its list of "Items You Should Never Burn in Your [Wood-Burning] Appliance," because it will "release toxic chemicals when burned".<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Wood-Burning Practices |url=http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/best-wood-burning-practices |publisher=[[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] |date=11 March 2025 |access-date=27 April 2025}}</ref>

The government of [[British Columbia]] also advises against burning driftwood, as [[dioxins]] may be released from the reaction of [[chloride]] [[ion]]s with other materials in the smoke.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 July 2023 |title=Wood Burning Practices |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/air/air-pollution/smoke-burning/wood-burning-appliances/burning-wood |publisher=Government of British Columbia |access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref>

=== Sculptures ===
Driftwood sculptures are sculptures that are made of driftwood found on beaches or along riverbanks.

* At [[Kullaberg]], [[Sweden]], [[Lars Vilks]] created [[Nimis (artwork)|Nimis]] a driftwood artwork in the year 1980.  This sculpture and two others led to the declaration of [[Ladonia (micronation)|Ladonia]] as an independent nation.
* [[Emeryville mudflat sculptures|Sculptures were created]] on the [[Emeryville, California]] mudflat and marsh area of [[San Francisco Bay]] in the late 1960s.
* The [[Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy]] (sometimes called the "Green Oscars") are sculpted out of driftwood.
* Artist [[Deborah Butterfield]] is known for her sculptures of horses, initially rendered from driftwood before being cast in bronze.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artnet.com/artists/deborah-butterfield/|title=Deborah Butterfield |publisher=artnet |access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref>
* In January the annual Driftwood and Sand festival is held in [[Hokitika]], New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Driftwood and Sand|url=https://www.driftwoodandsand.co.nz/|access-date=3 October 2020|publisher=Hokitika Driftwood and Sand}}</ref>

=== Forts ===
Driftwood is commonly used to make a temporary shelter on beaches.

== As a habitat ==
[[Image:RedwoodDriftwood.png|thumb|''Sequoia sempervirens'' driftwood logs]]

Large diameter ''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]'' logs spent enough time exposed to wave action to round their contours before being driven into the mouth of a narrow ravine by storm surf. Sequoia's high tannin content is resistant to decay, so these logs retain structural strength for decades. Storm flows within [[Shorttail Gulch]] are insufficient to move the logs back to sea. This unique habitat at the mouths of small estuaries of the California coast is threatened by the diminished quantity of large redwood logs available in flood waters since the logging of native forests.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

==Decline==
With the advent of industrial logging practices, the global quantity of driftwood has declined. Early accounts indicate that driftwood was once more plentiful. Early photographs of the [[Pacific coast]] reveal greater amounts of driftwood on the beaches than is present today.<ref>{{cite journal
| vauthors   = Lepofsky D, Lyons N, Moss ML
| date       = 2003
| title      = The use of driftwood on the North Pacific Coast: an example from Southeast Alaska
| url        = https://ethnobiology.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/JoE/23-1/Lepofskyetal2003.pdf
| journal    = [[Journal of Ethnobiology]]
| volume     = 23
| issue      = 1
| pages      = 125–141
}}</ref> Likewise, when traveling in [[Dixon Entrance]] in the late 1800s, [[George A. Dorsey]] recorded that many beaches were "piled high with drift, often to a height of sixty feet or more.<ref>{{cite journal
| vauthors   = Dorsey GA
| date       = 1898
| title      = A cruise among Haida and Tlingit villages about Dixon's Entrance
| journal    =[[Popular Science Monthly]]
| volume     = 53
| issue      = 2
| pages      = 160–174
}}</ref>"  Melting polar ice may also contribute to the decline of Siberian driftwood in the Atlantic as the sea ice enabled driftwood to travel greater distances without becoming waterlogged.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Magazine |first1=Hakai |title=Iceland's Sinking Driftwood Supply |url=https://hakaimagazine.com/news/icelands-sinking-driftwood-supply/ |access-date=17 October 2022 |work=[[Hakai Magazine]] |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Large woody debris]]
* [[Sea glass]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons-inline}}

[[Category:Wood]]