A ship that crashed and sank into the San Francisco Bay in the late 1800s has just been rediscovered.
A ship that crashed and sank into the San Francisco Bay in the late 1800s has just been rediscovered.
"Today with modern technology using sonar, we are mapping the entire seabed and in this harbor we found this wreck sitting upright down in the mud frozen in time." [James Delgado]
On August 22nd, 1888, the iron and wood steamship, called City of Chester had just embarked in foggy conditions with around a hundred passengers headed for Eureka, California and Portland, Oregon.
The ship made a dangerous turn before it passed the Golden Gate Bridge, and was hit by a larger ship, called the Oceanic, carrying Chinese immigrants.
The Chester sank after splitting in half and killing 16 people, which makes it the second deadliest maritime disaster that has ever occurred in the San Francisco Bay.
Remains of the shipwreck were found under 217 feet of water near the Golden Gate Bridge by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration while they were charting shipping channels using a multi-beam sonic imaging system.