Geoarchaeological and Historical Research on theRedistribution of Beeswax Galleon Wreck Debris by the Cascadia Earthquake and Tsunami (!A.D. 1700), Oregon, USA

Summary

Geoarchaeological and historical research indicate the wreck of a Manila galleon in northwest Oregon (USA) occurred prior to the last Cascadia earthquake tsunami and coastal subsidence at A.D. 1700, which redistributed and buried wreck artifacts on the Nehalem Bay spit. research has focused on site formation processes associated with the tsunami impacts. Wreck debris was initially scattered along the spit ocean beaches, then washed over the spit by nearfield tsunami (6–8 m elevation), and remobilized in beach strandlines by catastrophic beach retreat. Natural recovery of the spit (150 m beach progradation) and modern foredune accretion (5 m depth) have buried both the retreat scarp strandlines and associated wreck artifacts. Archaeological and historical research suggest the wreck is the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a galleon that disappeared in 1693, and that the lower hull of the vessel may have survived the tsunami relatively intact and may be present offshore.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Formation Processes of Maritime Archaeological Landscapes and Sites   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 345