Exploring "Graveyard Of Ships" Near San Francisco

Since Before the "California Gold Rush" around 300 ships have sunk near or close to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge !!! Might be Gold down Below  I think it is possible , but not really discussed in this article .

Interesting New Article , here is the link and paste !

Exploring 'graveyard of ships' near San Francisco

    
Researchers explore shipwrecks near San Francisco photo
In this Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an octopus swims by a mystery tugboat that was found by the NOAA research vessel Fulmar off the California coast. Federal researchers are exploring more than a dozen underwater sites where they believe ships sank in the treacherous waters outside the Golden Gate in the decades following the Gold Rush. During a five-day expedition, a team from NOAA used sonar and an underwater vehicle to examine and photograph the historic shipwrecks in the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary, where more than 300 vessels are believed to have sunk. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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Researchers explore shipwrecks near San Francisco photo
In this Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an undersea robot is shown on the deck of the NOAA research vessel Fulmar near the Farallon Islands, 30 miles off the coast from San Francisco. Federal researchers are exploring more than a dozen underwater sites where they believe ships sank in the treacherous waters outside the Golden Gate in the decades following the Gold Rush. During a five-day expedition, a team from NOAA used sonar and an underwater vehicle to examine and photograph the historic shipwrecks in the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary, where more than 300 vessels are believed to have sunk. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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Researchers explore shipwrecks near San Francisco photo
In this Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, maritime heritage coordinator Robert Schwemmer looks at an images from an undersea robot showing a mystery tugboat that was found by the NOAA research vessel Fulmar off the California coast. Federal researchers are exploring more than a dozen underwater sites where they believe ships sank in the treacherous waters outside the Golden Gate in the decades following the Gold Rush. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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Researchers explore shipwrecks near San Francisco photo
This schematic drawing provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the tramp freighter S.S. Selja, which was found by the NOAA research vessel Fulmar on Sept. 12, 2014, off the California coast near the Farallon Islands. The Selja sank on Nov. 22, 1910. Federal researchers are exploring more than a dozen underwater sites where they believe ships sank in the treacherous waters outside the Golden Gate in the decades following the Gold Rush. (AP Photo/NOAA)
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By TERENCE CHEA

The Associated Press

GULF OF THE FARALLONES NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY —

Federal researchers are exploring several underwater sites where ships sank while navigating in the treacherous waters west of San Francisco in the decades following the Gold Rush.

Over the past week, a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, equipped with sonar and video cameras, to examine and record the historic shipwrecks.

The five-day expedition was part of a long-term archaeological survey of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, which covers about 1,300 square miles of the Pacific Ocean off the Northern California coast.

NOAA researchers say more than 300 ships have wrecked in the gulf, where heavy fog, strong winds and protruding rocks have bedeviled many vessels heading in and out of the San Francisco Bay — especially before arrival of sonar and other navigational technologies.

"The Gulf of the Farallones is a graveyard of ships," said James Delgado, NOAA's maritime heritage director. "Every one of these accidents, every one of these sinkings, has its own dramatic story to tell."

The Associated Press accompanied the NOAA team on a research cruise Friday, when they used the underwater vehicle to explore three potential shipwreck sites near the Farallon Islands, a chain of rocky outcroppings about 30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the first target site, Delgado's team had hoped to see the wreckage of the Noonday, a 19th century clipper ship that was transporting railroad tracks and other cargo from Boston when it hit rocks near the Farallones and sank in 1863.

After the researchers dropped the remote-controlled vehicle about 300 feet onto the target site, they watched video monitors that showed the underwater video footage in real-time.

The sonar revealed the outlines of what appears to be a clipper ship, but the researchers didn't see any physical remains of the Noonday, leading them to believe it was buried under the sediment.

"Noonday is there. The sonar is very clear. But there's just nothing sticking above the seabed," Delgado said.

When they dropped the underwater vehicle on the third target, they found the wreckage of the SS Selja, a 380-foot cargo steamship that sank west of Point Reyes on Nov. 22, 1910.

Selja was transporting goods from China to San Francisco in heavy fog when it collided with another ship, the SS Beaver. Two Chinese crew members were lost, but the rest of the Selja crew was rescued.

Cameras on the NOAA team's underwater vehicle revealed the remains of Selja, lying overturned on its starboard side with its hull broken in multiple places. The wreckage had become part of the marine ecosystem, home to numerous fish, sea anemones and other plant life.

"We were actually quite surprised. It was a catastrophic ending for Selja," said Bob Schwemmer, West Coast coordinator for NOAA's maritime heritage program.


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