The Golden Gate Bridge has stretched over the Golden Gate strait since 1937. It is considered to be one of the most recognizable structures in the whole world. Even people who have not been there would recognize it right away.
Source: Pixabay
But did you know that there is a mystery lurking underneath the Golden Gate Bridge? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decides to put the rumors to rest with the help of their underwater robots. What they discovered will surprise you.
A famous landmark
The Golden Gate Bridge spans about two miles across the San Francisco Bay and has more than 20,000 visitors each day. People love to see the rust-colored structure and even if it is mostly covered in fog, it still gives everyone an appealing view.
Source: Explored Planet
The American Society of Civil Engineers considers the Golden Gate Bridge as one of the Wonders of the Modern World. It is easy to forget about the water flowing under the bridge and not everyone knows that it hides a secret of its own.
The secret graveyard
Not many people know this but the waters underneath the Golden Gate Bridge have its deepest point at 377 feet and in that depth, there is a lot that can be hidden. So, what is the big secret underneath the Golden Gate Bridge?
Source: Explored Planet
Rumor has it that beneath the waters of the Golden Gate Bridge is a graveyard of ships that have been around for centuries. The Golden Gate Strait is one of the world’s most natural harbors but it is also one of the most dangerous.
The notorious fog
Did you know that San Francisco Bay was not discovered until the 18th century? If you are wondering how a huge body of water managed to stay hidden for that long, the answer is actually quite obvious – it’s the notorious San Francisco fog.
Source: Explored Planet
The fog in San Francisco is very thick and can cover up the terrain and rough waters, making ships collide with each other or the big rocks on the water. The bay was discovered when the Spanish passed through it and noticed how difficult it was to sail through.
American territory
The Spanish noticed that their passage was no longer smooth sailing. In fact, one of the ships had smashed upon the rocks because they could not see a thing. Back then, the navigational charts and instruments used in sailing were still inadequate.
Source: Explored Planet
In 1846, Captain John Montgomery sailed into the bay. He reached Spanish-occupied Yerba Buena and claimed the land for America. A year later, Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco. A few years after that, California was named the 31st state of the United States.
The Gold Rush era
When California was named a state, this was the time of the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush turned San Francisco into an important port. In fact, it remained to be a popular port even after the California Gold Rush died down in 1855.
Source: Explored Planet
With so many people using the San Francisco port, it was time to figure out how to make the San Francisco Bay more manageable. It was time to conquer the harsh strait that has claimed numerous ships over the years.
Slow growth
Although a popular port, back then, San Francisco was already behind compared to other cities in America. The fog had hidden a lot of areas around the city and it was becoming a hindrance to the growth and development of the city.
Source: Explored Planet
The leaders of San Francisco started to think of a way for others to access their city without having to cross the dangerous and unpredictable San Francisco Bay. Back then, they did not even think it was possible to build a bridge because of their foggy weather.
An impossible solution
A bridge was considered to be unrealistic. The thickness of the fog and the harsh currents of the water were not exactly the best conditions to construct a bridge. Although the idea of creating a bridge felt impossible at that time, they did not put it off the table.
Source: Explored Planet
They knew that if ever it would be possible, it would have to be an incredible bridge – a bridge large enough to be seen through the fog, tall enough to allow large ships to pass underneath it, and long enough to span the straight.
A bridge was possible
In 1915, the idea of constructing a grand bridge over the bay started to take shape. Engineer Joseph B. Strauss proposed a combination of a cantilever and suspension bridge that would span across the bay and connect San Francisco to Marin County.
Source: Explored Planet
It took a few years more to apply Strauss’ idea. It took a while to construct and the bridge needed to go through a lot of revisions before it became the Golden Gate Bridge that we all know. By the time it was done, it was the longest and highest bridge created at that time.
A symbol of hope
The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened for use on May 27, 1937. At that time, America was going through an economic crisis and the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge became a symbol of hope for those living in San Francisco.
Source: Explored Planet
Today, over a hundred thousand vehicles would cross the bridge each day. Pedestrians and bikers also have their own lanes so you can actually walk or bike the entire stretch! There is a lot of traffic on the bridge.
Rumors and secrets
Rumors persisted about what lies in the waters and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) decided to see what the fuss was all about. NOAA is a scientific agency that inspects the conditions of major waterways in the world.
Source: Explored Planet
The organization consists of top-tier marine archeologists and researchers. Aside from monitoring the oceans and major waterways of the world, NOAA also scans the sea floors in search of anything out of the ordinary.
Scanning the ocean
Over the years, the unpredictable currents, tides, and swells in the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate Strait have brought down ships. NOAA decided to find out what happened to those shipwrecks.
Source: Explored Planet
The NOAA team started scanning the west part of the Golden Gate Bridge. As they went through the sonar scans, they were able to find interesting sites. NOAA used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to each site and found they were shipwrecks.
The Noonday wreck
The first ship they identified is the Noonday. The Noonday is a clipper ship that was owned by Boston-based merchant Henry Hastings. The Noonday sank during its fourth passage to San Francisco on January 1, 1863.
Source: Explored Planet
Fortunately, it was not a foggy day when the ship hit a rock. The crew was able to spot the harbor and swim to safety as the ship sank. As the Noonday started to sink, the men were able to grab some of their personal belongings.
The Noonday rock
In a desperate hurry to get off the sinking ship, nobody was able to save the ship’s cargo. Rumor has it that the ship carried valuable cargo. Some of the crew tried to retrieve it from the waters but it was too deep. Everybody came back up empty-handed.
Source: Explored Planet
The rock that the ship had hit was eventually known as Noonday Rock. The Noonday Rock is a well-known landmark. They were able to find the wreckage when a sonar scan picked up a huge structure not far from the Noonday Rock
Buried too deep
NOAA sent an ROV to the site to further investigate. Although the sonar scans clearly show that the structure was there, the ROV was not able to see anything on the sea floor. The ship was deeply buried in the sand.
Source: Explored Planet
But one thing was clear – NOAA was confident that they had found Noonday’s underwater grave. In an interview, NOAA’s James Delgado said that “Noonday is there. The signal is very clear. But there’s just nothing sticking above the seabed.”
SS Seijia wreck
Another shipwreck that NOAA discovered was the SS Seija, a cargo steamer chartered by the Portland & Asiatic Steamship Company for trade between the Pacific Northwest and Asia. On January 22, 1910, the SS Seija collided with another cargo ship, the SS Beaver.
Source: Explored Planet
It was said that by the time the captain heard the whistle of the other ship, it was too late. According to the captain of the SS Beaver, William Kidston, “The SS Seija sank headfirst in 10 minutes from the time she was struck.”
SS City of Chester wreck
NOAA also was able to discover a ship that was lost for over a century – the SS City of Chester. The steamship was traveling to Eureka, California, from the port of San Francisco when it met its end. The SS City of Chester sank when it collided with another ship, the RMS Oceanic.
Source: Explored Planet
The collision put a hole in the port side of the SS City of Chester and the ship sank within minutes, taking 16 people down with it. Nobody was able to find the wreckage until 120 years later when NOAA discovered the steamship.
Titanic of the Golden Gate
NOAA’s biggest find involves the most famous shipwrecks that ever took place on the coast of California – the SS City of Rio de Janeiro. The ship sank in 1901 while trying to get through the strait on a foggy morning after hitting several rocks.
Source: Explored Planet
The SS City of Rio de Janeiro had 210 passengers aboard when the tragedy happened. Most of them were immigrants chasing the American dream. Unfortunately, about half of the passengers went down with the ship. The tragic end caused history to remember it as the “Titanic of the Golden Gate.”
The unnamed tugboat
In 2014, NOAA also found the wreckage of a tugboat but they were unable to identify it. A year later, NOAA finally identified it as the USS Conestoga. It was a good thing the NOAA research team did not give up since it has an interesting history.
Source: Explored Planet
The tugboat was used to transport weapons and supplies during World War I. There were 56 men onboard when it went missing in 1921. Nobody was able to locate the wreck and nobody has heard of any survivors.
Safe passage
You should note that NOAA explored just a small portion of the bay. According to Live Science, there are about 300 shipwrecks scattered throughout the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the nearby Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The oldest shipwreck that they have on their files is a Spanish galleon that sank in the 16th century named San Agustin.
Source: Explored Planet
Today, you no longer have to worry about getting in trouble when crossing the San Francisco Bay on a ship. The technology that we now have enables captains to maneuver the area smoothly even on a foggy day. In fact, the last shipwreck that happened in the area was the SS. Puerto Rican way back in 1980.