Shipwrecks at the Mouth of the Columbia Shifting sands stirred up by this winter's stormy weather have uncovered three old shipwrecks along the Oregon coast: the massive wooden George L. Olson near North Bend, a wooden ship about six miles north of Bandon and one that appeared -- and has possibly been buried again -- where the Siuslaw River flows into the ocean near Florence.

But it's the mouth of the Columbia River that's called the graveyard of the Pacific. This map highlights known shipwrecks there compiled by the staff of the Columbia River Maritime Museum. A sample of some of the shipwrecks: Maine Date: Aug. 25, 1848 Type of ship: Whaler bark Lives lost: None Tonnage: 294 Where built: U.S. Cargo: Whale and sperm oil Source: Don Marshall's Oregon Shipwrecks Dreadnaught Date: February 1876 Type of ship: Sloop Lives lost: 7 Built in: Tillamook Source: Gibb's Pacific Graveyard, Don Marshall Oregon Shipwrecks

Vancouver Date: May 8, 1848 Type of ship: Bark Lives lost: None Tonnage: 303 Built in: London Cargo: Supplies for Hudsons Bay Source: Lloyd's Register, Don Marshall's Oregon Shipwrecks Bad Check Date: March 2, 1987 Type of ship: Pleasure craft Lives lost: 3 Source: Daily Astorian Midnight Express Date: Nov. 29, 1981 Type of ship: Trawler Lives lost: 4 Length: 861 Source: Sea Stories by John Paul Barrett

TO LEARN MORE Columbia River Maritime Museum 1792 Marine Drive Astoria 503-325-2323 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.