Storm Unearths Shipwreck Buried By Sand For 100 Years
SALT LAKE CITY (CBS Local) -- A recent storm that uncovered a capsized boat in Utah's Great Salt Lake had likely been buried in the sand for more than 100 years, officials said.
Friday's storm blew waves to the south, eroding a beach and exposing the wreckage by the Great Salt Lake Marina, Dave Shearer, park manager at Great Salt Lake State Park, told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Utah State Parks on Monday posted a photo of the wreck on its Facebook page, saying it was an old steel boat probably dating back to the turn of the 20th century.
There has been boating on the Great Salt Lake since the mid-1880's. Some of these boats experienced tragic endings only to be buried in the sand by storms. But storms can also uncover them. This old steel boat probably dates back to the turn of the 20th century. #GSLSP #GSL pic.twitter.com/UAWT4lGGcm
— Great Salt Lake USP (@GreatSaltLakeSP) May 25, 2020
Shearer said the boat could have been one used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to build the causeway across the lake in 1902 or to maintain the causeway in the years after, he said.
"It looks like this is about a 30- to 40-foot-long boat," Shearer said, "which matches the description of the boats the Southern Pacific was using."
There has been boating on the Great Salt Lake since the mid-1880s and "some of these boats experienced tragic endings only to be buried in the sand by storms," officials stated.