Archaeologica.org

With about 6,600 miles of coastline, it's not surprising to learn that there are a great many shipwrecks (present day and historical) off the coast of Alaska. The news article yesterday mentions the Gold Rush (circa 1898) wreck of the Clara Nevada. I'm also reminded of an excellent book I read about the tragic wreck of the Princess Sophia in the same waters (Lynn Canal near Juneau) around the same date.

I'm currently working on an airport improvement project at Unalaska (aka Dutch Harbor) which will probably require an assessment of the wreck site of the Eliza Anderson, also circa 1898. The Eliza Anderson (EA) was a side-wheel steamboat chartered to carry passengers from the Pacific Northwest (Seattle probably) to the gold fields at Nome. The EA was designed to travel calm inland waters, but in the frenzy of the Gold rush, every available ship was used by profiteers to serve the demand for transport. Anyone familiar with North Pacific waters would know that this was a recipe for disaster. Incredibly, the EA made it as far as Dutch Harbor before being fetched up on shore during a storm and breaking her back. I have a photo of the EA shortly after the accident. If I can figure out how to post it here, I will.[/img]

Additional information about the Clara Nevada, the Eliza Anderson, and Princess Sophia:

http://www.historylink.org/essays/outpu ... ile_id=869

http://explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/bl-ghost.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Sophia_(steamer)

To add a photo, Mayo, select one you want and right click on the image.

Next, copy (highlight and then Control C) the entire address (URL) for the photo.

close out the box and go back to the forum. Hit "reply" and then click on the Img box.



Paste the URL from above next to the [Img] and then click Img again.

Hit submit.