CA bay could be named as explorer's landing place
Posted: 03/20/2012 12:45:12 PM PDT \
PT. REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE, Calif.—The U.S. government is poised to settle the long-running historical dispute over where British explorer Sir Francis Drake stopped on the West Coast to repair and restock his ship during his 16th century journey around the world.
The National Park Service approved
designating Drakes Bay north of San Francisco as a historic landmark based on
the recommendation of a panel of scientists and archaeologists who concluded it
was the likely site of the notorious admiral's 1579 landfall, the Press Democrat
of Santa Rosa reported ( http://bit.ly/GEIc2f).
"It is a significant step, It is the final
step," said John Dell'Osso, chief of interpretation and resource education at
Point Reyes National Seashore, where Drakes Bay is located.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
still must sign off on the designation.
Historians have spent decades debating the
location of the site where Drake sought refuge and claimed for Queen Elizabeth I
as "Nova Albion."
Based on maps and journals describing the
topography and encounters with Native Americans, some have said it was on the
Oregon coast or even as far north as Canada, while others have pointed to
another bay slightly north of the spot under consideration.
Among the evidence the Park Service panel
considered was the research of San Francisco maritime archaeologist Ed Von der
Porten, who traced back to Drake some shards of porcelain discovered at Point Reyes National Seashore.
"They are looking to see if there are any
flaws," Von der Porten told the Press Democrat.
Under the national historic landmark
status being sought, Drakes Bay also would be commemorated as the site of the
earliest known shipwreck on the West Coast—the 1595 sinking of the San Agustin,
a Spanish Manila galleon. The remains have never been found but are believed to
lie in the area.
While the government may be persuaded that
Drake landed at the bay that now bears his name, the debate among scholars will
not be settled so easily. Brian Kelleher, author of the 1997 book "Drake's Bay,"
said he still is convinced that Drake visited Bodega Bay, about 40 miles north
of the proposed landmark.
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