Ship that launched Gold Rush unearthed

The wreck of the ship that launched the Klondike Gold Rush has been discovered off the coast of Alaska.

The remains of a steamship found near Cordova, Alaska have been identified as the S.S. Portland.

The Portland, which once smuggled guns, drugs and illegal workers, was one of the first ships to carry Yukon miners and their gold from Alaska in 1897. It's arrival in Seattle helped spark the fever that drew thousands to Yukon and Alaska in search of their fortune.

The Portland hauled miners to Skagway and St. Michael, the two routes into the Klondike and Dawson City, and then to the next gold strike in Nome.

The ship struck a rock and settled on a sandbar in 1910, where it was stripped down and left to the sea.

The well-preserved remains, first discovered about two years ago sticking out of the mud southeast of Cordova, were identified in June.

``Especially when the Gold Rush was on, everybody wanted to be on that boat,'' said shipwreck specialist Mike Burwell of the U.S. Mineral Management Service.

``For Alaska, it's probably the most significant wreck you could find.''