A 40-foot-long whale that washed ashore at Seal Rock, south of Newport, last weekend has been buried, officials said Thursday.

A State Parks spokesman said crews used a bulldozer to push the dead whale about 200 yards up the beach, then buried it.

 SLIDESHOW: Before whale was buried

Experts say it takes about a year for a whale to decompose.

Meanwhile, experts could not determine what killed the whale.

The director of Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute said the female whale had a basketball-sized abscess. It is unclear whether that contributed to her death.

 Background: Whale washes up on Ore. Coast

 SLIDESHOW: More photos of beached whale

Experts say a sample of the abscess will be tested to see whether they provide clues what killed the whale.

The whale washed ashore after it was spotted dead in the ocean last week.