Feb 26 2008
Quick! Grab a metal detector and head to the coast of Oregon!
No, no massive gold mine has been found. Just a forgotten shipwreck, historical relics and natural iron deposits.
Storms have been lashing Oregon’s scenic coast this winter and an exciting array of debris has made its way to the shore. Old shipwrecks, historic cannons and “strangely shaped iron deposits” have turned up on the beach. One of the first ships to emerge from the sands was identified as the George l. Olson, which ran aground June 23, 1944 and has been buried ever since. Unfortunately it’s drawn so much traffic that site seers are being navigated around it because it is considered an archaeological site. I’m sure I could think of a few amateur archaeologists who wouldn’t mind helping out…
But the shipwreck isn’t the only thing exposed from the washed-away sands. A “ghost forest” of 4,000 year old tree stumps has suddenly popped up and are visible for the first time in 40 years. And a pair of historic cannons were recently discovered by beachcombers. Their origin isn’t known, but they may have come from the USS Shark, a ship that wrecked in 1846 off the Columbia River Bar.
Finally, strangely shaped deposits of iron called “red towers” have also emerged. They’re orange/red lumps, no more than 3 ft. tall and litter the newly shaped coast. They may disappear with the next storm, and I bet they would give the iron discrimination on your metal detector a run for its money…
