The combination of fierce weather, isolated and rocky shores, and heavy ship commerce established, early on, the Olympic Coast as a graveyard for ships. More than 180 wrecks have been historically documented in the vicinity of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, an amount proportional to the commercial development in the region and the region's significance in the economic lives of the United States and Canada.

There are few recorded shipwrecks prior to the mid-nineteenth century, and no authentically-reported wrecks during the eighteenth century. The number of losses increased significantly as Puget Sound developed as an economic center and as Victoria developed on the north side of the Strait in the later 19th century.

Ship losses were predominantly weather-related, including founderings, collisions and groundings. Many ships simply disappeared, their last known location recorded by the lighthouse tender at Tatoosh before they disappeared into watery oblivion. "Last sighted, Cape Flattery," is the grim epitaph for many unfortunate ships and crew.

One of the best-known wrecks on the Olympic Coast was that of the Austria, a Bath, Maine-built "downeaster" converted from a fullrigged ship to a bark to ply the West Coast trade. Fragments of the Austria remain visible at Cape Alava during extreme low tides.

Shipwrecks in
the Sanctuary:

Austria

H.M.S. Condor

Emily Farnum

Lamut

Leonore

Pacific

Prince Arthur

Skagway

Southerner

St. Nicholas

Temple Bar

W. J. Pirrie

See Shipwreck Map