This Fascinating Southern California Shipwreck Has Been Abandoned And Reclaimed By Nature For Decades Now
By Natasha Kayes|Published February 14, 2023
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Natasha Kayes
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I was born and raised in sunny Southern California and will never tire of the West Coast, although I spent several years living in Southeast Asia, about as far from California as you can get. Wherever I am in the world, I love straying from the beaten path, experiencing local life, and discovering hidden gems - camera in hand. The beach is my happy place and when I am not there (or writing), you will usually find me baking, watching movies, and cuddling my pugs. I have traveled around the country and around the world, and it never, ever gets old. Being able to combine my passion for travel and my love of writing is nothing short of a dream.
It is incredibly interesting to see the power of nature in action, how it turns abandoned structures into crumbling ruins. The more historic a location, the more opportunities there are to see this kind of fascinating process. But even in this state, there are some very interesting decades-old ruins to discover. For example, the S.S. Dominator is a shipwreck in Southern California that has been reclaimed by nature.
It was March 13, 1961 when the Greek cargo ship known as the SS Dominator got trapped in the rocky reefs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
It didn't take long for nature to get to work. As seen in this 1965 aerial photo, though still mainly intact, the saltwater and rough waves had already completely rusted and eroded the entire ship, and had pushed it all the way onto the shoreline.
As the story goes, the Dominator was carrying a shipment of wheat bound for Algiers and was set to stop in the port of Los Angeles for fuel. The ship never made it to the port, but due to a navigational error, was caught on the rocky reefs of the peninsula just a few miles north of its destination.
It seems there was dense fog when the ship was run aground. There are two stories that have circulated about what exactly happened. Some say that the fog kept the crew from seeing the peninsula that jutted out in front of them as they focused on the lighthouse beyond it. Others say the crew thought they had already reached the Los Angeles port and tried to steer into it, getting stuck instead.
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Efforts and hopes for freeing the ship and getting it back out to the open sea were abandoned two days after it got stuck. The cargo and some parts were sold off, but the ship was largely left to rot just offshore.
Decades passed and the powerful waves thrashed the boat against the rocks, breaking it apart. The photo above was taken in 1981, exactly 20 years after the wreck.
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The same piece of the ship appears in this 2011 photograph, showing the slow and steady process of nature taking over and destroying what remains of the Dominator.
A large portion of the lower part of the ship remain sunken just of the shore. It is a very interesting dive site but is not for the inexperienced due to the heavy currents, rocky reef, and abundance of kelp that surround it.
Many fairly large pieces of the Dominator are scattered on the shore, mangled and eroded by the sea.
Tiny bits and pieces have essentially become part of the landscape. At low tide, rocks of all sizes cover the beach, making it easy to see why a ship that ran into the shallows would be difficult to get out.
The SS Dominator, or what remains of it, is open to the public, and the hike down to the shipwreck is beautiful but hikers are warned to be cautious, not only because of the tides and rocks in the sea, but because of rocks that fall regularly from the cliffsides as well.
This abandoned shipwreck in Southern California is a perfect example of the power of nature. Have you seen it? Would you want to hike to the ruins, or maybe even dive this site? We want to hear from you! If, like us, you cannot get enough of interesting ruins, here is another set of coastal ruins to explore!
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