Buried ships in San Francisco

Color aerial view drawn map showing the historic water line and locations of ships buried during the development of San Francisco with current, 2017 buildings
The Buried Ships of Yerba Buena Cove by Michael Warner et al., 2017

(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service)

 
Beneath contemporary streets of San Francisco lie the remains of many sailing ships that brought people to San Francisco during the gold rush that began in 1849. The ships have different stories, but many were used at storage as the city's shoreline was expanded outward around them by landfill--some of these and other abandoned ships burned in fires and were buried afterward. The Park's Collections Department holds many resources about these ships in addition to the resources highlighted here--please contact us for more information.
 
Color aerial view drawn map showing the historic water line and locations of ships buried during the development of San   Francisco with current, 2017 buildings
"The Buried Ships of Yerba Buena Cove, San Francisco, California" by Michael Warner et al., July 2017--downloads are available at the following links:

high-resolution version

low-resolution version
 
Map of cove in San Francisco showing original shoreline as well as contemporary streets with the locations of the ships, textual notes, and black and white illustration of sailing ship and wharf

(San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service)

"Gold Rush Vessels Beached, Scuttled, and Broken Up" from Notes on the Gold Rush Ships, by Albert Harmon, Harlan Soeten and Karl Kortum. A larger version of this image is available.
 

Buried Maps Comparison

Color aerial view drawn map showing the historic water line and locations of ships buried during the development of San   Francisco with current, 2017 buildings Color aerial view drawn map showing the historic water line and locations of ships buried during the development of San   Francisco with current, 2017 buildings

Left image
The Buried Ships of Yerba Buena Cove, San Francisco, California by Michael Warner et al., July 2017
Credit: (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service)

Right image
Gold Rush Vessels Beached, Scuttled, and Broken Up
Credit: (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service)

Last updated: July 28, 2023

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