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Lost Ship of The Desert

Mandelon

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That area could certainly have been flooded and accessible from the Sea of Cortez. Imagine a heavy flow year on the Colorado river before there were any dams. Lake Cuahilla was quite large and was likely periodically connected to the Sea. I have spent a decent amount of time in Anza Borrego and the rumors persist of both of these possibilities.

Here's another article:

 
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Carrera205

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That area could certainly have been flooded and accessible from the Sea of Cortez. Imagine a heavy flow year on the Colorado river before there were any dams. Lake Cuahilla was quite large and was likely periodically connected to the Sea. I have spent a decent amount of time in Anza Borrego and the rumors persist of both of these possibilities.

Here's another article:

So cool. Imagine what it looked like back then. I imagine it was a ship running from pirates and ended up stuck out there somewhere. Buried with its loot. Only shows itself to some but never in a time when the treasure can be recovered. Lost to the sands forever.
 

HB2Havasu

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I’ve done a lot of hiking and off-roading in the hills above Salton Sea (use to be part of Lake Cahuilla) and sometimes you come across an area that is covered in sea shells a few hundred feet above the lake level which would be close to what sea level is today. So it’s not unreasonable to think that at sometime in the last 600 years that area was open to the Gulf of California that would support the passage of a Spanish Galleon? Kinda like Bigfoot, you have to recover it or nobody will believe it. After 400+ years it likely got buried by sand and/or mud?
 

Carrera205

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I’ve done a lot of hiking and off-roading in the hills above Salton Sea (use to be part of Lake Cahuilla) and sometimes you come across an area that is covered in sea shells a few hundred feet above the lake level which would be close to what sea level is today. So it’s not unreasonable to think that at sometime in the last 600 years that area was open to the Gulf of California that would support the passage of a Spanish Galleon? Kinda like Bigfoot, you have to recover it or nobody will believe it. After 400+ years it likely got buried by sand and/or mud?
That’s so cool. Yeah I read that the Salton sea is about 250 feet below sea level and that it is completely possible that the area could of been full of sea water. And after time the Colorado river delta filled up with silt from the river flowing and eventually blocked sea water from coming in anymore. Pretty cool stuff.
 

MK1MOD0

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I LOVE stories like this. I watched a few programs on the Ship of the desert, and sounds like it could be plausible. Hope it is, and some find it! Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt.
 

DrunkenSailor

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I have been reading James Patterson a treasure hunting series with the kids. This was one of the topics in one of the books. There have been rumors of it for centuries. Very cool.
 

Ziggy

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Old nautical maps showed a sea there and much of California(incl baja) as a huge island.
Screenshot_20210615-231254_Chrome.jpg
 
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Ziggy

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That area could certainly have been flooded and accessible from the Sea of Cortez. Imagine a heavy flow year on the Colorado river before there were any dams. Lake Cuahilla was quite large and was likely periodically connected to the Sea. I have spent a decent amount of time in Anza Borrego and the rumors persist of both of these possibilities.

Here's another article:

I often think about the Kit Carson tale of him traveling to/from the So Cal area across this desert to back east....during a timeframe the Salton Sea was not there.
 

Taboma

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Be it the Indian folk lore of first the Vikings or later the Spanish Pearl Ship, the stories are certainly interesting as is Lake Cahuilla (Or it's other various names) and what an amazing place it was, when it was.

The problem with the Spanish ship is one of timing. Since Lake Cahuilla was at the mercy of the Colorado River (Not the ocean), it filled when the river changed course and flowed north, and it's water's evaporated and it became a dry basin, when the Colorado River for whatever reason, turned south and flowed into the Sea of Cortez.
Historically, it's claimed to have alternated many times. So getting swept by a tidal flow into ancient Lake Cahuilla seems unlikely, since the river either flowed north or south, with Lake Cahuilla being fresh water, it wasn't physically connected to the Sea of Cortez. Doesn't mean the ship wasn't swept north, then deposited along the Colorado River in that area however.

All I know is, over the ages the Colorado River created an amazingly fertile delta, which provides vast amounts of food today. On the other hand, I wish the Colorado River still flowed north and we had a 113 mile long by 33 mile wide freshwater lake to play on. 👍

Here's a couple of articles that are very interesting if you've got some time.



Here's an edit with yet another interesting spin on the tale of the lost Pearl ship. In this one, it uses a scenario whereby Lake Cahuilla was in fact at times connected to the Sea of Cortez, during which it would experience these large tidal bores doubling it's depth during the event. Fun reading, especially with the inclusion of the Dutch Pirate Joris Spilbergen, Arggghhhhh ☠

 
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DrunkenSailor

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Lots of other cool stuff in that desert. Anyone been to the tubes in glamis?
 

DrunkenSailor

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When Patton was training, prior to the Africa campaign, out in Patton flats. The rumor is they built some tunnels through the dunes to move the tanks and they are still there. I have seen the tanks that they left behind but we could never find the tunnels. The tubes!
 

Taboma

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I thought "The Tubes" were the Xylophones ? AKA P-38 ground targets
 

Spudsbud

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Tho unlikely, both plausible and...... Fun !
Those Oak Island brothers have turned a tidy profit over the years digging up a myth !
 

Flatsix66

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This is a fascinating story and seemingly plausible. In the 1850s paddlewheel boats would travel from San Fransisco around Baja and up past fort Yuma delivering goods. Perhaps ocean water levels were higher in the 1600s (the other global warming) and a water route flowed to the Salton sea basin???
 

Taboma

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This is a fascinating story and seemingly plausible. In the 1850s paddlewheel boats would travel from San Fransisco around Baja and up past fort Yuma delivering goods. Perhaps ocean water levels were higher in the 1600s (the other global warming) and a water route flowed to the Salton sea basin???

Was the seasonal level of the Colorado River that allowed for paddlewheel boats to travel well into Mohave County. Under Lake Havasu there's the remains of two towns with river landings.
Aubrey Landing, down by the Bill Williams river and Liverpool Landing out in the basin off the island.
 

LowRiver2

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Only old thing I’ve heard of down there was the damn senior nudist colony north of Ocotillo🤣
“Droopy Dick Acres” was the label, lol

Saw the “Patty Hearst kidnap trailer “ outside of North Glamis Camp. A wadded piece of steel frame that could be called anything, lol!
 

jetboatperformance

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Cool stuff , love this "history" . Was sitting on a rocky spot on Camp Roberts looking toward Nacimiento , hunting Pigs , stirred some dirt and found a large deposit of calcified shells (mussels or clam like ) 30 mile from the coast and definatly above sea level
 
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