Driftwood
Drift wood is wood that has been washed on a beach, seashore, lake, or river by wind, tide, or waves.
Its uses:
Driftwood can be used as part of decorative furniture or other art forms, a common element in the fish tank scene. Terrium and to make tropical environments
For more details:
The floating woods carried by the Arctic rivers were the main, or sometimes the only, source of wood for some Inuit residents and other Arctic residents living north of the treeline until they became in regular contact with European traders. Traditional Inuit boats such as kayaks are designed from leather-covered floating wood frames. The Inuit classified floating woods into seven different species, each with its own unique physical and optical properties. Driftwood can be used to make brackets if they are in straight granules and in reasonably good condition; they have been reinforced with straight cables. The Inuit even made arrows from floating wood; these were often short and fitted with bones or furry. The dry scrape resulting from the work, storage and use of these materials was collected to start fires all year round by the Inuit. The wood that is burned today in these areas consists mainly of the remains of the wooden structures that are condemned to them. Some still use drift wood as a torch. Woods with resin qualities, such as rice, are preferred for longer combustion times.
With the advent of industrial logging practices, the global amount of floating wood has declined. Early accounts suggest that floating wood was once again plentiful. Early images of the Pacific Coast reveal larger amounts of floating wood on the beaches than is in existence today. Similarly, when traveling at the entrance to Dixon in the late 19th century, George A. Dorsey recorded that many beaches “rising with drift, often to a height of sixty feet or more may also contribute to the decline of Siberian floating timber in the Atlantic Ocean as sea ice has enabled floating timber to travel greater distances without becoming submerged in water.
