Graveyard of the Pacific
Encyclopedia
The Graveyard of the Pacific is a nickname for a stretch of the coastal region in the Pacific Northwest
, from Tillamook Bay
on the Oregon Coast
northward to the tip of Vancouver Island
. The region's seas are frequently subject to heavy and unpredictable weather year round combined with the rugged, largely undeveloped coastline, especially along Vancouver Island
and its northwestern tip at Cape Scott, causing sea conditions which endanger many marine vessels. More than 2000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost near the Columbia Bar
alone. One book about regional wrecks lists 484 wrecks at the south and west sides of Vancouver Island.
Combinations of fog
, wind
, storm
, current
and wave
have crashed hundreds of ships in the region by the middle of the twentieth century, including famous wrecks in regional history. Charts of the region show its famous, and dangerous, landmarks:
Shipwreck charts are studded with sites.
As shipwrecks in this area are difficult for salvager
s to reach, salvage attempts are often unsuccessful, or of limited success. Yet, actual physical wreckage is minimal due to a number of factors. These include the age of many wrecks, the often violent weather and sea conditions where wrecks occurred, and the extensive damage suffered by vessels at the time they were wrecked.
The term is believed to have originated in the earliest days of the Maritime Fur Trade
, not only as increasing numbers of traders' ships began to be wrecked, but also because of the ongoing state of incipient warfare that all ships had to be provided for in the region, which was considered one of the most dangerous and deadly regions to trade in the Pacific
.
The rate of major wrecks has decreased considerably since the 1920s, but several lives are still lost each year.
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, from Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...
on the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
northward to the tip of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. The region's seas are frequently subject to heavy and unpredictable weather year round combined with the rugged, largely undeveloped coastline, especially along Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and its northwestern tip at Cape Scott, causing sea conditions which endanger many marine vessels. More than 2000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost near the Columbia Bar
Columbia Bar
The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
alone. One book about regional wrecks lists 484 wrecks at the south and west sides of Vancouver Island.
Combinations of fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
, storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
, current
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
and wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
have crashed hundreds of ships in the region by the middle of the twentieth century, including famous wrecks in regional history. Charts of the region show its famous, and dangerous, landmarks:
- Columbia BarColumbia BarThe Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
: a giant sandbar at the mouth of the Columbia River - Cape Flattery
- Reefs and rocks lining the west coast of Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
- Strait of Juan de FucaStrait of Juan de FucaThe Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
Shipwreck charts are studded with sites.
As shipwrecks in this area are difficult for salvager
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
s to reach, salvage attempts are often unsuccessful, or of limited success. Yet, actual physical wreckage is minimal due to a number of factors. These include the age of many wrecks, the often violent weather and sea conditions where wrecks occurred, and the extensive damage suffered by vessels at the time they were wrecked.
The term is believed to have originated in the earliest days of the Maritime Fur Trade
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
, not only as increasing numbers of traders' ships began to be wrecked, but also because of the ongoing state of incipient warfare that all ships had to be provided for in the region, which was considered one of the most dangerous and deadly regions to trade in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The rate of major wrecks has decreased considerably since the 1920s, but several lives are still lost each year.
See also
- Graveyard of the AtlanticGraveyard of the AtlanticGraveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname of two locations known for numerous shipwrecks: the treacherous waters in the Atlantic Ocean along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Virginia coastline south of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry; and around Sable Island, off the coast...
- Lightship ColumbiaLightship ColumbiaUnited States lightship Columbia is a lightship located in Astoria, Oregon, United States of America. The Columbia was formerly moored near the mouth of the Columbia River.-History:...
- New CarissaNew CarissaThe M/V New Carissa was a freighter that ran aground on a beach near Coos Bay, Oregon, United States, during a storm in February 1999, and subsequently broke apart. An attempt to tow the bow section of the ship out to sea failed when the tow line broke, and the bow was grounded again. Eventually,...
- Peter Iredale
- Puget Sound Mosquito FleetPuget Sound Mosquito FleetThe Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet was a large number of private transportation companies running smaller passenger and freight boats on Puget Sound and nearby waterways and rivers. This large group of steamers and sternwheelers plied the waters of Puget Sound, stopping at every waterfront dock...
- Steamboats of the Oregon CoastSteamboats of the Oregon CoastThe history of steamboats on the Oregon Coast begins in the late 19th century. Before the development of modern road and rail networks, transportation on the coast of Oregon was largely water-borne...
- List of Oregon shipwrecks
- Inside PassageInside PassageThe Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...
- Ripple RockRipple RockRipple Rock was an underwater, twin-peaked mountain in the Seymour Narrows of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia, Canada, a part of the marine trade route from Vancouver and coastal points north. The nearest town was Campbell River...
- SS PacificSS PacificThe SS Pacific was a 876-ton sidewheel steamer built in 1851 most notable for its sinking in 1875 as a result of a collision southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. The Pacific had an estimated 275 passengers and crew aboard when it sank. Only two survived. Among the casualties were several notable...
- SS ValenciaSS ValenciaThe SS Valencia was an iron-hulled passenger steamer wrecked off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1906. Built in 1882 by William Cramp and Sons, she was a 1,598 ton vessel, 252 feet in length...
- SecheltSechelt (steamboat)The steamship Sechelt operated from 1893 to 1911 on Lake Washington, Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia.. For most of the ship's career, she was known as the Hattie Hansen....
- ClallamClallam (steamboat)The steamboat Clallam operated for about six months from July 1903 to January 1904 in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. She was sunk in a storm on what should have been an ordinary voyage to Victoria, British Columbia.-Construction:...
Sources
- First Approaches to the Northwest Coast, Derek Pethick
- A Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Derek Hayes