Strong Storms Dredge Up History
The long string of powerful winter storms that have been lashing the Pacific Northwest have done an incredible amount of damage. But they have also uncovered historical treasures and strange things as well.
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — The storms that have lashed Oregon's scenic coast this winter have dredged up an unusual array of secrets: old shipwrecks, historic cannons, ghost forests — even strangely shaped iron deposits.
One of the first ships to emerge from the sands was recently identified as the George L. Olson, which ran aground at Coos Bay's North Jetty on June 23, 1944.
The shipwreck has become a tourist attraction on the southern Oregon coast. Interest became so great that authorities had to reroute traffic around the ship and post signs warning visitors to leave it alone because it is now an archaeological site.
The curiosities began showing up after December when Pacific storms pummeled the state, damaging thousands of homes and causing an estimated $60 million in damage to roads, bridges and public buildings.
Hardest hit was Vernonia, a Coast Range town of about 2,400 people, where floodwaters damaged about 300 homes, ruined schools and temporarily closed businesses.
The storms also brought high seas, which caused beach erosion. Although sands commonly shift in winter, this season appeared especially dramatic. There were reports that up to 17 feet of sand eroded away at Arch Cape.
"It's really an unusual event, the magnitude of it," said Chris Havel of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Other shipwrecks have emerged recently — a wooden ship near Bandon, also on the southern coast, and another where the Siuslaw River flows into the ocean near Florence. Little is known about either ship, Havel said, and sands have reclaimed the Siuslaw wreck.
Cannons, ghost forests (fields of old stumps) and oddly shaped iron deposits are popping up all over the area. Speaking of things long since buried and forgotten, here's a site I found while poking around looking for something else. It catalogs many abandoned or disused subway stations in New York City. They linked to another site that catalogs Forgotten New York. Lots of unusual stuff on that site.
By sam, Tuesday, 26 February , 2008 @ 4:16 pm
Any sign of Amelia Earhart’s plane?