AH-WR-1191

SS Sacramento

Side-Wheel Steamship · United States · Lost 1872 · Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

This San Francisco-New York passenger steamer struck an uncharted reef off Baja California in 1872 without loss of life, leaving a reef that still bears her name.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

SS Sacramento was a 270-foot wooden side-wheel steamer that ran between New York and San Francisco. In December 1872, under Captain E. L. Farnsworth, she struck a then-uncharted reef south of Isla San Geronimo off the Pacific coast of Baja California. All 145 aboard reached the island safely and were later picked up by the steamer Montana, while Farnsworth and a few crew stayed with the wreck to direct salvage until mid-December. The reef, now named Sacramento Reef, prompted new hydrographic surveys of the coast and remains the focus of a modern Mexican underwater archaeology project.

Vessel

Built: 1864
Builder: Not established
Yard: United States
Material: Wood
Length: 270 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side paddle wheels
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 1, 1872
Cause: Grounding
Location: Reef south of Isla San Geronimo, now called Sacramento Reef
Water: Pacific Ocean, off Baja California
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 145
Lives lost: 0
Master: Captain E. L. Farnsworth

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Engine gallows-frame, walking-beam, and main shaft reportedly remained visible above water at low tide for roughly ninety years before disintegrating.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Subject of an ongoing INAH underwater archaeological survey (Archaeological Inventory of Wrecks from the 19th and 20th centuries in the Mexican Pacific).

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Sacramento Reef, near Isla San Geronimo, Rosario Bay
Region: Baja California & the Mexican Pacific

General reef area is well known and named for the ship, but no verified decimal wreck position was located in the sources reviewed.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (70/100)

The exact day of loss and the vessel's precise wreck position have not been established in the sources reviewed.

Islapedia (regional historical reference)
Vessel description, wreck circumstances, survivor and salvage details.
Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH)
Confirmation of ongoing archaeological search for the wreck and reef location description.