130-Year-Old Shipwreck Exposed in North Dakota Thanks to Drought
The entire midwest had a nasty drought all summer long, and North Dakota is still going through it. That became apparent when an almost 130-year-old shipwreck became exposed in the Missouri River because of the drought.
There just hasn't been enough rain all summer, including in North Dakota, and so the water levels are insanely low compared to other years. I remember when some friends and I went tubing down the Cannon River this summer we were needing to watch for rocks. Tubing trips down the Cannon River in past years weren't so full of rocks.
The lower water levels are exposing things that we usually can't see including the Abner O'Neal steamship. CBS News says that the Abner O'Neal "carried grain between Washburn and Bismarck-Mandan" back in the day. It was built in 1884 for this purpose. However, 8 years later, in 1892, the steamship struck a rock or something similar and sank to the bottom of the Missouri River.
People are stopping by to see the shipwreck for themselves. It's not every day that you get to see something like this. If you want to go check it out, officials in the area ask that you observe from a distance. North Dakota's chief archeologist, Andrew Clark, told CBS News, "'It is public property and a protected historic site so when visiting it, it is important to only take pictures and be respectful.'"
Even though the drought is definitely not a good thing, especially for farmers and animals, it's pretty cool to be able to see something like this that most people typically never get to see.