This is a list of shipwrecks located in Californian waters.
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother Jonathan |  United States | July 30, 1865 | A paddle steamer that ran aground off Crescent City. | |
| Emidio | United States | December 20, 1941 | A tanker that was sunk by I-17 off Crescent City. | 41°45′1.96″N124°11′47.95″W / 41.7505444°N 124.1966528°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Hancock |  United States | April 27, 1863 | A steam-powered tender suffered a boiler explosion in Los Angeles Harbor killing 26 of her 53 passengers. A common urban legend states that onboard was $125,000 in gold, transported by a Wells Fargo messenger, which was never recovered. [1] | |
| Ace I | April 29, 1948 | A barge that foundered in a storm and was scuttled as a hazard to navigation off San Pedro, Los Angeles. | ||
| Avalon | United States | September 16, 1964 | A passenger ship that foundered under tow off Palos Verdes. | 33°43′34″N118°21′14″W / 33.726°N 118.354°W |
| USS Burrfish | United States Navy | November 19, 1969 | A Balao-class submarine that was sunk as a target off San Clemente Island. | |
| Charles F. Crocker | 1929 | A barquentine that was run aground and dismasted for a movie off Santa Catalina Island, sometime around 1929. The wreck was later burned, and then moved further inland by a tidal bore. | ||
| Dauntless | October 3, 1928 | A schooner that was blown up for the movie The Rescue off Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island. | ||
| Diosa del Mar | United States | July 30, 1990 | A wooden schooner that ran aground on Ship Rock at Santa Catalina Island. | 33°27′46″N118°29′31″W / 33.462770°N 118.491925°W |
| Dominator | United States | March 13, 1961 | A cargo ship that ran aground on Rocky Point, Palos Verdes. | 33°46′26″N118°25′42″W / 33.77389°N 118.42833°W |
| F.S. Loop | 1947 | A barge that sank near Angel's Gate and was blown up as a hazard to navigation. | ||
| Georgia | February 22, 1966 | A barge that was scuttled off Redondo Beach. | ||
| Georgia Straits | A tug that sank under tow off Los Angeles. | |||
| USS Gregory | United States Navy | March 4, 1971 | A Fletcher-class destroyer that was bombed as a target off San Clemente Island. | |
| Johanna Smith |  United States | July 22, 1932 | A schooner that caught fire and sank off Long Beach. | |
| USS John C. Butler | United States Navy | 1971 | A John C. Butler-class destroyer escort that was sunk as a target off San Clemente. | |
| USS Koka | United States Navy | December 7, 1937 | A Bagaduce-class fleet tug that ran aground off San Clemente Island. | |
| Margaret C. | A schooner that was blown up for a movie in Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island, in about 1926. | |||
| Monfalcone | August 31, 1930 | A gambling ship that caught fire and sank off Long Beach. | ||
| USS Moody | United States Navy | February 21, 1933 | A Clemson-class destroyer that was blown up in San Pedro Bay for the MGM movie Hell Below . | |
| USS Moray | United States Navy | June 18, 1970 | A Balao-class submarine that was sunk as a target off San Clemente. | 33°25′30″N117°37′44″W / 33.425°N 117.629°W |
| USS Naifeh | United States Navy | July 11, 1966 | A John C. Butler-class destroyer escort that was sunk as a target off San Clemente Island. | |
| Ningpo | 1938 | A Chinese junk that was beached then burned at Santa Catalina Island. | ||
| Olympic II | September 4, 1940 | A barge that collided with the Japanese freighter Sakito Maru off San Pedro. The wreck was blown up as a hazard to navigation. | ||
| Palmyra | A schooner that was beached and burned off Santa Catalina Island, around 1938. | |||
| Princess Louise | June 20, 1990 | A cruise ship, later converted into a floating restaurant, that sank under tow about 16 nautical miles (30 km) southwest of Point Fermin, while en route to Catalina to be sunk as an artificial reef. | ||
| Sacramento | December 2, 1968 | A barge and ferry that foundered off Redondo Beach. | ||
| Sansinena |  Liberia | December 17, 1976 | An oil tanker that exploded at the Port of Los Angeles. | 33°42′52″N118°16′29″W / 33.71444°N 118.27472°W |
| S.N. Castle | February 17, 1926 | A barquentine that was burned and sunk in Catalina Harbor at Santa Catalina Island, for the movie Old Ironsides . | ||
| SueJac | November 14, 1980 | A schooner that ran aground on Casino Point, Santa Catalina Island. | ||
| USS Stribling | United States Navy | January 1937 | A Wickes-class destroyer that was sunk as a target off San Pedro. | |
| UB-88 | United States Navy | January 3, 1921 | A Wickes-class destroyer that was sunk as a target off San Pedro. | |
| USS Vammen | United States Navy | February 18, 1971 | Sunk by a Condor missile strike off San Clemente Island. | Lat 118-33.0 N, Long 32-54.05 W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labouchere |  United Kingdom | April 14, 1866 | A paddle steamer that ran aground off Point Reyes. | 38°05′N123°01′W / 38.083°N 123.017°W |
| San Agustin |  Spain | November 1595 | A Manila galleon under the command of Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho that was wrecked at anchor in Drakes Bay, the first shipwreck in California. | 37°59′48″N123°01′11″W / 37.99677°N 123.01984°W |
| Tennessee | March 6, 1853 | A passenger steamship that ran aground off Indian Cove, now renamed Tennessee Cove. | ||
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il’mena |  Russia | June 19, 1820 | A Russian-American Company maritime fur trade brig that wrecked at Point Arena. All people and cargo was saved and taken to Bodega Bay and Fort Ross. | |
| Frolic | 1850 | An opium-trading brig wrecked near Point Cabrillo Light in 1850. Frolic was the subject of a 2003 episode of Deep Sea Detectives . | ||
| Josephine Woolcot | 1886 | A schooner wrecked by a storm off Mendocino City. Ship broke in half mid ship into two sections – bow and two mast / transon and two mast, sank with fantail pointing northwest in large surf. | ||
| Sea Foam | January 28, 1931 | A schooner that was wrecked at Point Arena. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Brown | April 21, 1932 | A barge that ran aground off Laguna Beach. | ||
| Elsie I | October 17, 1951 | A barge that capsized in a storm off Huntington Beach. | ||
| Foss 125 | November 17, 1958 | A barge that foundered in a storm off Laguna Beach. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montebello | United States | December 23, 1941 | An oil tanker that was torpedoed by I-21 off Cayucos. | 35°35′N121°16′W / 35.583°N 121.267°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier Pigeon | United States | June 6, 1853 | A clipper that ran aground near Pigeon Point. "On the night of June 6, 1853, the clipper ship Carrier Pigeon ran aground 500 feet off shore of the central California coast. The area is now called Pigeon Point in her honor. The Carrier Pigeon was a state-of-the art, 19th Century clipper ship. She was 175 feet long with a narrow, 34 foot beam and rated at about 845 tons burden. Launched in the fall of 1852 from Bath, Maine, the Carrier Pigeon ... started out on her maiden voyage on January 28, 1853. Out of Boston and bound for San Francisco, the Carrier Pigeon was under the command of Captain Azariah Doane." (Pigeon Point History). There were no deaths in the sinking. | |
| Sir John Franklin | January 17, 1865 | Clipper ship. The ship was headed for San Francisco and in heavy fog struck rocks off of the point, since then renamed Franklin Point. The ship was destroyed, killing the Captain and eleven men. The point is located in Ano Nuevo State Reserve. The seamen were buried there; the officers in San Francisco. | ||
| Point Arena | 1913 | A steam schooner. Pieces of the hull are on display at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. | ||
| San Juan | August 29, 1929 | A passenger steamer that was rammed by S. C. T. Dodd off Pigeon Point. [2] | 37°11′N122°25′W / 37.183°N 122.417°W | |
| USS Thompson | United States Navy | February 1944 | A Clemson-class destroyer that was sunk as a target in San Francisco Bay. | 37°33′10″N122°09′27″W / 37.5529°N 122.1576°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | United States | 1929 | A concrete ship sunk in shallow water at Seacliff State Beach as an entertainment venue, and now serves as an artificial reef. | 36°58′11″N121°54′48″W / 36.969592°N 121.913416°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona | United States | March 17, 1908 | A steamship that ran aground near Fort Ross Cove, Fort Ross. [3] | 38°30′37″N123°14′44″W / 38.510278°N 123.245556°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS Agerholm | United States Navy | July 18, 1982 | A Gearing-class destroyer that was sunk as a target off San Nicolas Island. | 32°45′N119°32′W / 32.750°N 119.533°W |
| USS Deperm | United States Navy | September 22, 1982 | A degaussing vessel, sunk as a target. | 32°58′N119°41′W / 32.967°N 119.683°W |
| Equator | July 2, 1949 | A fishing vessel that ran aground off Anacapa Island. | ||
| La Jenelle | United States | April 13, 1970 | A cruise ship that was grounded off Port Hueneme, California. | |
| USS Makassar Strait | United States Navy | April 1961 | A Casablanca-class escort carrier that ran aground on San Nicolas Island. | |
| USS Ulvert M. Moore | United States Navy | July 13, 1966 | A John C. Butler-class destroyer escort that was sunk as a target off San Nicolas Island. | |
| Winfield Scott | United States | December 2, 1853 | A paddle steamer that ran aground on Anacapa Island. |
