Just off the coast of Alabama, divers have discovered and ancient forest beneath the waves of the Gulf of Mexico. This Bald Cypress forest was hidden under the sand for over 50,000 years and was likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The undersea forest, which is about 60 feet below the ocean surface, was preserved amazingly well because of the lack of oxygen that exists under the ocean sediments. Now that the area is exposed it won’t be around for very long as it will soon be destroyed by living creatures.
Ben Raines was one of the first divers to see this amazing place. Ben is the executive director of the nonprofit Weeks Bay Foundation. He mentioned that a local dive shop owner had been trying to keep the place a secret because he feared that divers take things from the dive area and would eventually spoil the ancient underwater forest.
You can experience the underwater forest in the video above, which takes you down under the Gulf of Mexico and gets you up close and personal with these amazing ancient trees. You can read the complete article on this forest by LiveScience.