Case file · Folklore / legend
The Lost Ship of the Desert
A Spanish galleon, Viking ship or pearl-laden boat said to lie buried in the sand of the Colorado Desert near the Salton Sink. The first printed version appeared in 1870, and search parties followed that year.
1870 CE · 33.30, -115.90 · status: legend
The account
Tales grew after the Colorado River flood of 1862. Versions multiplied for a century, encouraged by the region's ancient shorelines of Lake Cahuilla.
The sceptical view
No wreck has been found; the old lake shores make the idea seem plausible, but no ship could have reached the basin in historic times.