List of shipwrecks of California explained

This is a list of shipwrecks located in Californian waters.

Del Norte County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	30 July 1865	A paddle steamer that ran aground off Crescent City.
	United States	20 December 1941	A tanker that was sunk by off Crescent City.	41.7505°N -124.1967°W

Humboldt County

See main article: List of shipwrecks of Humboldt County, California.

Los Angeles County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	27 April 1863	A steam-powered tender suffered a boiler explosion in Los Angeles Harbor killing 26 of her 53 passengers. A common urban legend states that onboard was $125,000 in gold, transported by a Wells Fargo messenger, which was never recovered.^[1]
		29 April 1948	A barge that foundered in a storm and was scuttled as a hazard to navigation off San Pedro, Los Angeles.
	United States	16 September 1964	A passenger ship that foundered under tow off Palos Verdes.	33.726°N -118.354°W
		19 November 1969	A that was sunk as a target off San Clemente Island.
		1929	A barquentine that was run aground and dismasted for a movie off Santa Catalina Island, sometime around 1929. The wreck was later burned, and then moved further inland by a tidal bore.
		3 October 1928	A schooner that was blown up for the movie The Rescue off Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island.
	United States	30 July 1990	A wooden schooner that ran aground on Ship Rock at Santa Catalina Island.	33.4628°N -118.4919°W
	United States	13 March 1961	A cargo ship that ran aground on Rocky Point, Palos Verdes.	33.7739°N -118.4283°W
		1947	A barge that sank near Angel's Gate and was blown up as a hazard to navigation.
Georgia		22 February 1966	A barge that was scuttled off Redondo Beach.
			A tug that sank under tow off Los Angeles.
		4 March 1971	A that was bombed as a target off San Clemente Island.
	United States	22 July 1932	A schooner that caught fire and sank off Long Beach.
		1971	A that was sunk as a target off San Clemente.
		7 December 1937	A that ran aground off San Clemente Island.
			A schooner that was blown up for a movie in Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island, in about 1926.
		31 August 1930	A gambling ship that caught fire and sank off Long Beach.
		21 February 1933	A that was blown up in San Pedro Bay for the MGM movie Hell Below.
		18 June 1970	A that was sunk as a target off San Clemente.	33.425°N -117.629°W
		11 July 1966	A that was sunk as a target off San Clemente Island.
		1938	A Chinese junk that was beached then burned at Santa Catalina Island.
		4 September 1940	A barge that collided with the Japanese freighter off San Pedro. The wreck was blown up as a hazard to navigation.
			A schooner that was beached and burned off Santa Catalina Island, around 1938.
		20 June 1990	A cruise ship, later converted into a floating restaurant, that sank under tow about 16nmi southwest of Point Fermin, while en route to Catalina to be sunk as an artificial reef.
		2 December 1968	A barge and ferry that foundered off Redondo Beach.
	Liberia	17 December 1976	An oil tanker that exploded at the Port of Los Angeles.	33.7144°N -118.2747°W
		17 February 1926	A barquentine that was burned and sunk in Catalina Harbor at Santa Catalina Island, for the movie Old Ironsides.
		14 November 1980	A schooner that ran aground on Casino Point, Santa Catalina Island.
		January 1937	A that was sunk as a target off San Pedro.
		3 January 1921	A that was sunk as a target off San Pedro.
		18 February 1971	Sunk by a Condor missile strike off San Clemente Island.	Lat 118-33.0 N, Long 32-54.05 W

Marin County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United Kingdom	14 April 1866	A paddle steamer that ran aground off Point Reyes.
San Agustin	Spain	November 1595	A Manila galleon under the command of Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho that was wrecked at anchor in Drakes Bay, the first shipwreck in California.
		6 March 1853	A passenger steamship that ran aground off Indian Cove, now renamed Tennessee Cove.

Mendocino County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		19 June 1820	A Russian-American Company maritime fur trade brig that wrecked at Point Arena. All people and cargo was saved and taken to Bodega Bay and Fort Ross.
		1850	An opium-trading brig wrecked near Point Cabrillo Light in 1850. Frolic was the subject of a 2003 episode of Deep Sea Detectives.
		1886	A schooner wrecked by a storm off Mendocino City. Ship broke in half mid ship into two sections – bow and two mast / transon and two mast, sank with fantail pointing northwest in large surf.
		28 January 1931	A schooner that was wrecked at Point Arena.

Orange County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		21 April 1932	A barge that ran aground off Laguna Beach.
		17 October 1951	A barge that capsized in a storm off Huntington Beach.
		17 November 1958	A barge that foundered in a storm off Laguna Beach.

San Diego County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		7 January 1968	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		19 October 1968	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		16 November 1962	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		1 October 1970	A light cruiser that was sunk as a target.
		13 May 1973	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		12 April 1936	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		17 December 1917	An F-class submarine that was sunk in a collision off Point Loma.
		8 November 1945	A that was bombed as a target off San Diego.
		27 October 1967	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		25 June 1935	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
	United States	1 January 1937	An oil tanker that drifted onto Coronado in a storm.	32.674°N -117.173°W
		11 September 1945	A that was sunk in a collision with off San Diego.
		20 February 1945	An S-class submarine that broke tow and sank off Imperial Beach.
		15 February 1973	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.	32.7052°N -117.4424°W
		26 June 1935	A that was sunk as a target off San Diego.
		13 December 1930	A yacht that caught fire and sank off Descanso Beach.
		29 June 1968	A that sunk as a target off San Diego.
		July 2000	A that was scuttled off Mission Bay as an artificial reef.

San Francisco County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		25 April 1950	A hospital ship that sunk in a collision with .
		8 April 1946	A protected cruiser that was scuttled off San Francisco.	37.741°N -122.583°W
		3 June 1942	A minesweeper that sank in a collision.
	United States	22 August 1888	A passenger ship that collided with in San Francisco Bay.
	United States	21 February 1901	A steamship that struck a reef in San Francisco Bay.
		1921	An ocean-going tug that was declared "lost at sea" on 30 June 1921. The wreck was discovered in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in 2009, and formally identified as Conestoga in 2016.
		14 August 1968	A that was sunk as a target off San Francisco.	37.0833°N -132°W
	United Kingdom	19 June 1882	A steamboat that capsized off San Francisco.
		30 June 1942	A coastal minesweeper that collided with Esther Johnson in San Francisco Bay.
	United States	2 August 1910	A schooner that ran aground on rocks in San Pablo Bay.	37.5834°N -122.5176°W
King Philip	United States	1878	A clipper that ran aground in heavy surf at Ocean Beach
		21 April 1966	A that was sunk as a target.
		1907	A wrecked whaling ship located beneath King Street, San Francisco, that was discovered in 1980 during a sewer construction project.	37.7808°N -122.3883°W
	United States	8 October 1936	A cargo ship that ran aground near Seal Rock.
		May 1912	A steamboat that was burned and sunk by the Navy in San Francisco Bay near Hunter's Point.
	United States	30 November 1901	A steamboat that collided with Sausalito off Alcatraz Island.
		24 May 1946	A that was sunk as a target west of the Golden Gate.	37.749°N -122.729°W
		May 1966	A that was sunk as a target off San Francisco.
	United States	20 April 1858	A full-rigged ship that struck a rock off Point Bonita.

San Luis Obispo County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	23 December 1941	An oil tanker that was torpedoed by off Cayucos.	35.5833°N -137°W

San Mateo County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	6 June 1853	A clipper that ran aground near Pigeon Point. "On the night of June 6, 1853, the clipper ship Carrier Pigeon ran aground 500 feet off shore of the central California coast. The area is now called Pigeon Point in her honor. The Carrier Pigeon was a state-of-the art, 19th Century clipper ship. She was 175 feet long with a narrow, 34 foot beam and rated at about 845 tons burden. Launched in the fall of 1852 from Bath, Maine, the Carrier Pigeon ... started out on her maiden voyage on January 28, 1853. Out of Boston and bound for San Francisco, the Carrier Pigeon was under the command of Captain Azariah Doane." (Pigeon Point History). There were no deaths in the sinking.
Sir John Franklin		January 17, 1865	Clipper ship. The ship was headed for San Francisco and in heavy fog struck rocks off of the point, since then renamed Franklin Point. The ship was destroyed, killing the Captain and eleven men. The point is located in Ano Nuevo State Reserve. The seamen were buried there; the officers in San Francisco.
Point Arena		1913	A steam schooner. Pieces of the hull are on display at Pigeon Point Lighthouse.
San Juan		29 August 1929	A passenger steamer that was rammed by S. C. T. Dodd off Pigeon Point.^[2]	37.1833°N -147°W
		February 1944	A that was sunk as a target in San Francisco Bay.	37.5529°N -122.1576°W

Santa Barbara County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		4 May 1915	A barquentine that ran aground at Santa Rosa Island.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
	United States	7 February 1962	A cargo ship that ran aground on Santa Rosa Island.
		7 November 1894	A steamship that ran aground off Santa Rosa Island.
	United States	7 September 1923	A German steamboat that was seized by the United States in 1917, and eventually ran aground off San Miguel Island, on the same day as the Honda Point Disaster.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
Goldenhorn		12 September 1892	A barque that ran aground off Santa Rosa Island.
		25 November 1961	A drillship that foundered off Santa Barbara.
		13 June 1917	A cutter that collided with Governor off Point Conception.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
	United States	8 July 1911	A steamship that ran aground at Point Arguello.
		12 January 1909	A schooner that ran aground off Lompoc.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
		March 1815	Japanese vessel under Oguri Jukichi damaged off Japan and drifted across the Pacific. Survivors rescued by Forester near Point Conception.
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.
	United States	1 October 1854	A steamboat that ran aground at Point Arguello.	34.5769°N -120.6472°W
		8 September 1923	One of seven United States Navy ships that ran aground off Lompoc in an incident known as the Honda Point Disaster.

Santa Cruz County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	1929	A concrete ship sunk in shallow water at Seacliff State Beach as an entertainment venue, and now serves as an artificial reef.	36.9696°N -121.9134°W

Sonoma County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
	United States	17 March 1908	A steamship that ran aground near Fort Ross Cove, Fort Ross.^[3]	38.5103°N -123.2456°W

Ventura County

Ship	Flag	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
		18 July 1982	A that was sunk as a target off San Nicolas Island.	32.75°N -151°W
		22 September 1982	A degaussing vessel, sunk as a target.	32.9667°N -160°W
		2 July 1949	A fishing vessel that ran aground off Anacapa Island.
La Jenelle	United States	13 April 1970	A cruise ship that was grounded off Port Hueneme, California.
		April 1961	A that ran aground on San Nicolas Island.
		13 July 1966	A that was sunk as a target off San Nicolas Island.
	United States	2 December 1853	A paddle steamer that ran aground on Anacapa Island.

References

• Web site: Southern California Shipwrecks . California Wreck Divers . 1 July 2012.

Further reading

• Book: Marx, Robert F. . 1987 . Shipwrecks in the Americas . New York . Dover . 145–191 . 0-486-25514-X .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Numismatist . The California . 2011-05-17 . A Gold Coin Treasure in San Pedro Bay? - or - Just Another Tale of Wells Fargo? . 2022-12-07 . CoinWeek . en-US.
2. Web site: Shipwreck Database - San Juan . Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary . 1 July 2012.
3. Web site: S.S. Pomona Shipwreck Project . Indiana University . 1 July 2012.