Mallows Bay Ship Graveyard

One of the shipwrecks in Mallows Bay Ship graveyard, on the Potomac River
One of the shipwrecks in Mallows Bay Ship graveyard, on the Potomac River

Mallows Bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River is the site of what is called the “largest shipwreck fleet in the Western Hemisphere,” also known as a ship graveyard. The bay, now a wildlife refuge and public park, has the graves of more than 230 ships sunk in the river. Almost ninety were poorly constructed steamships built during World War I; in 1925 they were burned and scuttled in the bay. Bethlehem Steel then built a salvage basin during World War II to recover metal from the abandoned ships. The remains of these ships now form a reef system that hosts an array of wildlife.

These are some photos.

Photos taken with a Nikon Coolpix 120 sitting in my Trophy 126 kayak “Arrau.” I was paddling the bay at close to peak low tide, which helped to reveal a lot of the shipwreck structure.

Further Reading: 

Related Pages

Boats Ships and Subs : Ron’s photo collection of boats, ships, and submarines.
Desert Kayaking : A kayaking adventure down the Colorado River starting just below Hoover Dam.
Paddling The Bashakill : Kayaking on the Basherkill wetlands conservation area near Wurtzboro, New York.

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