AP Photo/The Daily Astorian, Lori Assa

by Jamie Hale | The Oregonian, OregonLive

There’s something ghostly about shipwrecks in nature.

Thousands of ships have wrecked off the Oregon coast over the last three centures – so many at the mouth of the Columbia River, in fact, that the area is known as the "graveyard of the Pacific" – but few are left on the beaches today.

Most shipwrecks were scrapped soon after it was determined that they wouldn’t make it back out to open water, others buried so deep beneath the water or sand that nothing short of archeological digs will resurface their remains. But a good number have been left out in the open, or else appear every so often as winter storms move old dunes aside.

Here are just 8 of those shipwrecks, from rusted hulls to wooden ribs, scattered along the Oregon coastline.

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Courtesy of Foster Church

1. Peter Iredale

Without a doubt the most iconic shipwreck on the Oregon coast, the wreck of the Peter Iredale is found just beyond a parking area at Fort Stevens State Park. Only the steel hull remains of the 275-foot sailing ship, which ran aground in 1906. The ship made it to the mouth of the Columbia River through a shroud of fog, but was turned around by a strong wind while waiting for a pilot, hitting Clatsop Beach so hard that three of its four masts snapped on impact.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

2. Mary D. Hume

Not technically a shipwreck, the historic Mary D. Hume is nevertheless one of the most visible abandoned ships on the Oregon coast. The steamboat was built in 1881 in Gold Beach, eventually spending 97 years in active service – the longest for any commercial vessel on the Pacific coast. The boat spent its first 10 years hauling goods between Oregon and San Francisco before heading out to the Pacific as a whaling vessel, where it recorded a record six-year voyage. It wound up working as a tugboat for 60 years before retiring in the Gold Beach harbor

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3. Bella

The schooner Bella ran aground in 1906 near the south jetty of the Siuslaw River in Florence, and most of the time remains buried in the sand. But occasional winter storms unveil the remains of the boat. More information on the Bella can be found at The Pioneer Museum in Florence.

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Oregonian File Photo

4. J. Marhoffer

Ever wondered how Boiler Bay north of Depoe Bay got its name? Go at low tide and look north for the rusty remains of a boiler from the ill-fated J. Marhoffer, a steam schooner that crashed into the rocks in 1910. The wreck was surely a sight to see, caused by a fire in the engine room that forced the captain to abandon the ship as it ran full-speed toward shore. The boiler is still visible today, but only when the tide is extraordinarily low.

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Courtesy of Don Best

5. Emily G. Reed

Winter storms and erosion occasionally unveil some hidden treasures on the Oregon coast, including the ribs of the Emily G. Reed, a 215-foot sailing vessel that ran aground near Rockaway Beach in 1908. Lost in the fog and weighed down by 2,100 tons of coal, the ship broke instantly upon impact, claiming the lives of eight crewmen. It's only been visible a few times since being completely buried under the sand, but it most recently emerged in Feb. 2017.

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6. Sujameco

Visitors to Horsfall Beach in North Bend may be able to see the iron skeleton of the Sujameco, a 324-foot steamship that ran aground in 1929. Lost in heavy fog, the ship got stuck in shallow water, turned around by breakers and finally ran ashore after trying to maneuver away at full speed. The hull was largely scrapped during WWII, but remains can sometimes still be seen at low tide.

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Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management

7. George L. Olson

In 2008, a mysterious shipwreck emerged from the sands of Horsfall Beach, drawing tourists and archeologists alike. It was eventually determined to be the remains of the George L. Olson, a steam schooner built in 1917 that wrecked in 1944. For much of the last century it was buried beneath a 40-foot dune, uncovered during a winter storm in 2008. It’s since been reburied by sand, but odds are it will show up once again.

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Wikimedia Commons

8. T.J. Potter

The T.J. Potter didn't wreck on the unforgiving Oregon coast, but was left there to die after decades spent transporting passengers and goods. The sidewheel steamer was once considered the fastest in the Pacific Northwest, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph as it ferried people from Portland to Astoria and Ilwaco. In 1916 the T.J. Potter was condemned for passenger use, spending its last years as a barracks boat for construction crews until 1920, when it was burned, scrapped and abandoned in Youngs Bay. In 2016, the Maritime Archaeology Society documented the remains.

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Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Bonus: New Carissa

The wrecked hull has been pulled from the ocean, but memories of the New Carissa are still fresh on the Oregon coast. The 639-foot freighter ran aground on its way to Coos Bay Harbor in 1999. Two fuel tanks leaked about 70,000 gallons of oil into the water, making it one of the worst environmental disasters in Oregon history. After it was set on fire to burn off the oil the ship split in two, and it took nine years for crews to fully remove both halves from the water.

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Steven Nehl/The Oregonian/OregonLive

Bonus: Beeswax Wreck

Named for the chunks of beeswax that have washed ashore near Manzanita, the Beeswax Wreck is supposedly the remains of a galleon that wrecked off the rocky coastline around 1700, destined for Mexico. Sightings of the hull have been sporadic – one in 1813, another in 1926 – but a group of researchers have recently tasked themselves with finding the shipwreck.

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See artifacts at the Columbia River Maritime Museum

It may lack the romantic nature of seeing a shipwreck on the beach, but several artifacts from wrecks are on display at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. It's also the home of the Lightship Columbia, one of the most interesting maritime attractions in the state.

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Photo courtesy of Travel Oregon

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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