Shipwrecks in the desert - Links to 3 articles

[ropesfish]

In another thread I had posted a link to a Newsweek story about the Salton Sea/ships in the desert story. I will repost it here along with a story I happened across about two other treasure ships found ashore in case some haven't seen them.
Interesting stuff, but I still like my shipwrecks wet.

A 1615 Spanish wreck in California: Pearls, petroglyphs, and desert shipwrecks | San Diego Reader

Viking(?) ship in the Salton Sea: Searching for California's Lost Viking Treasure Ship

The Bom Jesus found in the Namibian desert -Clive Cussler used this in a story of his years ago-http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/miners-find-500-year-old-shipwreck-filled-with-gold-coins-in-namibian-desert-a7072221.html

 

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[Old Bookaroo]

FYI - There is a Lost Pearl Ship Sub- (Sub-?) Forum in Treasure Legends that includes a link to this article and a number of other articles, including the Col. Evans piece mentioned in the Newsweek story.

My personal favorite is still the one about Uncle Scrooge.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo, CM

 

[Red_desert]

It's been a while, but I'd once researched the story out completely. Ask anyone who has gold prospected down near Yuma in the local area placers. You will find abundant seahells mixed in with the quartz float in spots. There once upon a time was a shallow sea in there.

Back in the days of the old Model T Fords, 2 men were duck hunting at the Salton Sea. Being hurricane season in Mexico, the winds picked up a fierce gusty force blowing the sand in their faces. To take shelter, the men went down into the bend of a dry creek bed. After it was morning, all the sand was blown away so the desert shrubs had at least 12 inches of root exposed. Looking around they noticed some black pebbles. One man picked up a couple to take home. Scraping the edge of the heavy black rock, he saw the bright surface of pure gold. Years later, the man with the gold went back with a museum owner from San Diego. He dug up a couple more of the black gold rocks while the owner of the museum walked around the area. I've seen photos of a black gold nugget dug that day, but unfortunately, this person was murdered for his information gived to the editor of Desert Magazine (or Highways, don't remember for sure). The editor of Desert Magazine got killed also, his briefcase of notes stolen.

People believe these gold rocks were rare black volcanic nuggets. Of course, it also is located in the general area of where the sands uncover and cover up lost treasures. I think the lost galleon might be close to where this story took place. What would be more interesting is, if the nuggets had been on the ship along with the pearls. Somebody find the wreck and then we'll all know for sure.

 

[Red_desert]

It is the same location, when searching the topo maps there I can remember a town called Ocotillo. The large black coated gold nuggets were found either before or after a grade named by a local spring. Don't remember the name of the spring, except I do have research material which has this info. On Delorme California Atlas, couldn't locate that spring. I'm not certain either if the location is actually on the bombing range or not. I think there might be a ghost town close by named Ocotillo Wells. The one story link mentions "The Spanish ship was loaded with pearls when it ran aground in the spring of 1615. The shipwreck lies six miles northwest of present-day El Centro inside an active U.S. naval bombing range."

Edit: Ocotillo Wells, as it turns out is well off to the NW of search area. Ocotillo is on map #2 in the ballpark (bottom left corner of map). Now, only need to check my research info, probably near Ocotillo). Map # is Ocotillo Wells. I'm using Zoom Earth, might be able to use this mapping source to locate the springs grade.

Edit:

 

[Red_desert]

According to your article link story...

"When the folks at the Maritime Museum of San Diego read that, they were “electrified.” Maggie Platt, an exhibit designer at the museum, called and asked if I would lead a group back to the petroglyph site so they could see it for themselves. A few days later I met Maggie and her husband Ted at the Texaco gas station in Ocotillo, about a hundred miles east of San Diego. Using an old map, I’d found a jeep road that would take us from Ocotillo into Davies Valley and bring us within two miles of Pinto Canyon."

This is Ocotillo.

 

[ropesfish]

It is the same location, when searching the topo maps there I can remember a town called Ocotillo. The large black coated gold nuggets were found either before or after a grade named by a local spring. Don't remember the name of the spring, except I do have research material which has this info. On Delorme California Atlas, couldn't locate that spring. I'm not certain either if the location is actually on the bombing range or not. I think there might be a ghost town close by named Ocotillo Wells. The one story link mentions "The Spanish ship was loaded with pearls when it ran aground in the spring of 1615. The shipwreck lies six miles northwest of present-day El Centro inside an active U.S. naval bombing range."

Edit:

Looks hot and dry, but here is a Google Earth snap or two or three of that area. It is certainly not far from the Salton Sea, which is way below sea level presently. I would think that one of the main criteria for possible locations of a ship would be elevation, but as geologically active as California is, it is possible that the elevations have changed in the past 300 or 400 years. I am reminded of Lituya Bay in Alaska where in 1958 an .3 earthquake lifted a wave hundreds of feet high down a valley, raised some areas 50 feet and sunk some areas 25 feet. Here is that story...certainly worth the read: SitNews - SURVIVING THE BIGGEST WAVE EVER By DAVE KIFFER

Here is a link to a report on the geology of the Salton Sea Trough: http://fire.biol.wwu.edu/trent/alles/GeologySaltonTrough.pdf

 

[Red_desert]

There was a big earthquake, during a gold rush next to the Az/CA border which ruined structures in on border town.

I have a new theory about this story. If the shipwreck is on the Naval Bombing range as the article suggested, it really doesn't matter. They tried to move as much of the treasure as possible. It is a hot arid and in places a rugged terrain. My guest is on the was back to Mexico, the gold got too heavy to bother with, a pile left behind one spot, more later. Soon food and water, the need to survive would have become their first priority.

I finally realized the source of the gold. I believe the Indians traded the gold for the cloth which turned out to be rotted. There is good reason to assume, based on research, that this gold is from another site off to the NW in the area of the ghost town I posted the one map. The museum ownwer who took the photo of the person with the black gold nugget, was also a professional old time treasure hunter. Once he located the ruts made in clay, from Spanish outlaw soldiers, who looted Spanish missions in Mexico.

To make a long story short, he located the charred remains of the 10 ox drawn carts or wagons loaded down with treasure. The Indians caught up with the Spanish outlaw soldiers, ambushed them at night, burned the 10 carts of treasure. The artifacts recovered were swords, 1 coin cache, gold crosses with huge garnets, 3-4 ft gold covered wood cross etc. plus a couple graves with skeletons.

 

[whiskyninja]

Ocotillo Wells is not a ghost town, it's still active. There's Banner grade, mountain springs rd, Dos Cabezas spring. Any other details? I would like any information on the jeep trail that goes near pinto canyon. Thanks!

 

[seekerGH]

The Salton Sea was created when the Colorado River overflowed, so was Laguna Salada The Colorado used to flow down to the Gulf.

This was during a flood, and is about 70 miles from the Colorado River, and 120 miles from the Gulf. Only during that flood was the Salton Sea connected to the river.

Why would a Spanish ship full of pearls be that far inland, on a temporary lake? Pearl oysters in the Gulf...no.

Far too many questions.

 

[Red_desert]

Ocotillo Wells is not a ghost town, it's still active. There's Banner grade, mountain springs rd, Dos Cabezas spring. Any other details? I would like any information on the jeep trail that goes near pinto canyon. Thanks!

I'd have to check or rather dig out from my bookshelf the old out-of-print book which names the grade with a location. The only problem I had was trying to pinpoint the exact names on the topo map atlas, maybe people who live in the area could identify the spot. I'm sure there are map sources would have all the names of places. Of course, I'm thinking now of the black coated gold nugget site.

 

[Red_desert]

I got the book out, to get accurate details of the story. I'll leave the names of preople out, but this story comes from the author's own personal experience (who had been highly respected by the treasure hunting community). He was visiting a prospector (single loner that never married) in the Salton Sea area. The guy placed in his wife's hand a black coated gold nugget the size of a walnut. She leaned forward from the weight of it.

The nugget was found (along with several more black nuggets) when the prospector with a buddy went duck hunting in the Salton Sea area. On their trip back home, near Octillo Wells, a strong wind they called The Chubasco blew over the desert. Soon as the winds hit, the canvas top of the old Model T Ford blew off. The men spent the night in the bend of a deep creek bed. In the morning they saw how 1 1/2 feet of roots were exposed on the desert plants. Black heavy rocks were scattered around the desert floor at this point of the creek bend.

Later the author treasure hunter, went to the spot with his new prospecting friend. He used his metal detector not finding any, but the prospector recovered a couple when off by himself digging without a metal detector. The location where they pulled over to leave the highway...Mountain Springs Grade. Then a little across the desert to reach that deep creek bend.

 

[Red_desert]

Maybe I should give the author credit here, the name is George Mroczkowski, curator of the San Luis Rey Mission Museum. Back in the "Good Ole Days" of treasure hunting, a few of those museum owners also went out searching for artifacts themselves to put up museum displays (and hunt treasure).

 

[whiskyninja]

Wow cool!! Thanks for the details. That'll give me something to chew on. I know that area, just haven't done much exploring there

 

[Red_desert]

Recently, I got some feedback from gold prospectors and miners who live in the SW desert area. no confirmation on the shipwreck, but I think it was Cortes, they said left behind a chest full of pearls in Salton Sea area. Also I was informed that somebody turned up a batch of black nuggets found in the Octillo Wells vicinity, but claimed to have worked out the spot.

One miner owns a mine in California that produces black nuggets and quite common on his claim. The black color is from manganese which may give you a clue on what type of geology to search for, nuggets clean up good using nitric acid. So, black nuggets are natural and could be more than just a single spot.

There is supposed to be plenty of plunder left behind by others to search out and recover.