Crooked Forest

{{short description|Forest of unusual pine trees in Poland}}

{{Infobox forest

| name = Crooked Forest

| native_name = Krzywy Las

| native_lang = pl

| photo = Crooked Forest.jpg

| map = Poland

| relief = 1

| coordinates = {{coord|53|12|50|N|14|28|30|E|region:PL-ZP_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=inline,title}}

| county = Gryfino County

| region = West Pomeranian Voivodeship

| country = Poland

| status = Natural monument of Poland

| species = Scots pine

}}

The Crooked Forest ({{langx|pl|Krzywy Las}}) is a grove of oddly-shaped Scots pine trees located in the village of Nowe Czarnowo near the town of Gryfino, West Pomerania, in north-western Poland. It is a protected natural monument of Poland.{{cite web|url=https://gryfino.szczecin.lasy.gov.pl/krzywy-las-kolo-gryfina|title=Krzywy Las koło Gryfina|website=Nadleśnictwo Gryfino|access-date=10 April 2022|language=pl}}

This grove of 400 pines was planted in around 1930. Each pine tree bends sharply to the north, just above ground level, then curves back upright after a sideways excursion of one to three meters (3–9 feet). The curved pines are enclosed by a surrounding forest of straight pine trees.{{Cite web|title=What Could Have Caused Poland's Crooked Forest?|url=https://www.iflscience.com/environment/what-could-have-caused-polands-crooked-forest/|url-status=live|access-date=19 December 2020|website=IFLScience|date=July 2014 |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707230914/http://www.iflscience.com:80/environment/what-could-have-caused-polands-crooked-forest |archive-date=2014-07-07 }}

It is generally believed that some form of human tool or technique was used to make the trees grow or bend this way, but the method has never been determined, and remains a mystery to this day. It has been speculated that the trees may have been deformed to create naturally curved timber for use in furniture or boat building.{{cite web |url=http://wyborcza.pl/1,75400,15274315,Kto_odkryje_tajemnice_Krzywego_Lasu.html |title=Kto odkryje tajemnicę Krzywego Lasu |first=Piotr |last=Cieśliński |publisher=Wyborcza.pl |date=15 January 2014 |accessdate=15 January 2014 |language=Polish}} Others surmise that a snowstorm could have bent the trunks, but there is little evidence of that.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/science/crooked-forest-poland-theories.html |title=In Poland's Crooked Forest, a Mystery With No Straight Answer |first=Joanna |last=Klein |date=21 March 2017 |journal=The New York Times}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000004944454/crooked-forest-puzzle-in-poland-who-bent-the-trees.html|title=Puzzle in Poland: Who Bent the Trees?|first1=Stefania Rousselle, Joanna Klein, Samantha|last1=Quick|first2=Logan|last2=Jaffe|work=The New York Times |date=31 March 2017|publisher=|via=NYTimes.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.editorchoice.com/natures-warnings/|title=Nature Warning - J shaped Trees|last=|first=|date=10 February 2019|website=Editor Choice|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}{{failed verification|date=November 2020}}

The forest was featured in season 1, episode 4 of The UnXplained on the History channel titled "Unnatural Nature" that first aired on 9 August 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/shows/the-unxplained/pictures/the-unxplained-unnatural-nature-photo-gallery|title=The UnXplained Pictures & Galleries: Unnatural nature|website=HISTORY|accessdate=2020-11-10}}

The site is open to the public and is a tourist attraction in the region.{{cite web |url=https://swiatrolnika.info/krzywy-las#:~:text=Krzywy%20Las%20to%20jeden%20z,s%C4%85%20wygi%C4%99te%20pod%20k%C4%85tem%20ok. |title=Krzywy Las koło Gryfina zostanie poddany rewitalizacji |last=Wroniewski |first=Sebastian |date=3 August 2020 |website=światrolnika.info |language=Polish |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815052639/https://swiatrolnika.info/krzywy-las#:~:text=Krzywy%20Las%20to%20jeden%20z,s%C4%85%20wygi%C4%99te%20pod%20k%C4%85tem%20ok. |url-status=dead }}