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Our favorite historial shipwreck (not that they are good) is the SS Winfield Scott, which crashed into Anacapa Island in 1853. Today you can go scuba diving an hour off the coast of Ventura and still find gold, but you can't touch it as the wreck is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A little closer to L.A. are the rocky shores in the South Bay where over 10 shipwrecks have occurred and are featured in an interactive map by the Daily Breeze. Of note is the Dominator, which came too close to the Palos Verdes Peninsula shore and sank as 10,000 witnesses watched from land. You can see the map here.
