We are certainly not aboreal experts, but all the trees do seem to be about the same age. I’d be interested to know whether the explosion in Siberia that you referenced created a similar sort of crooked forest there.

Thanks for sharing.

~ SCS

Also I didn’t have a close look at the wider angle photos when writing about the idea of something being placed or built over them. They’re all over. Also of note is there doesn’t seem to be any trees that are older than the bent ones which leads me to place my bet on a large explosion or meteor impact similar to the well known Siberian event from 1908 that leveled an entire forest… all in the same direction.

As to why they all face a certain direction is not that clear without knowing more about the context of the site. Perhaps whatever snapped off the terminal bud also shaved off or damaged the other lateral buds leaving only the southward facing ones to grow; perhaps they were intentionally pruned that way for (as someone else guessed) a boat building exercise; or perhaps something was built or placed overtop of them just above the ground that gave them only one direction to grow in order to grow out from underneath it and whatever that was has either been removed or was made of materials that have since decayed into the forest floor. The only natural disasters I can think of that would cause such uniform damage are floodwaters, the shock and heatwave from a volcanic blast or meteor impact, or an avalanche.

Food for thought…