Word of the Day
18 February 2026
drunken trees
(A stand of) trees displaced from their normal vertical alignment, especially due to thermokarst.
Why this one
The name is descriptive rather than technical: as ice-rich ground thaws and slumps, root plates tip and whole stands lean at odd angles. Foresters read them as a symptom of the ground, not the timber.
In use
Whole block north of the creek is drunken trees now, so forget hauling through there until the ground firms up.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.