&sq=&lang=&file=File:Steamship_Orizaba_(1854).png) Orizaba flying the Pacific Coast Steamship Company flag
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Orizaba |
| Builder | Jacob A. Westervelt & Company |
| Cost | $240,000 |
| Launched | January 14, 1854 |
| Homeport | San Francisco |
| Identification | Signal letters H.W.M.T. |
| Fate | Broken up in San Francisco, June 1887 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Sidewheel Steamship |
| Tonnage | 1,244 GRT |
| Tons burthen | 1600 tons |
| Length | 240 ft (73 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 15.4 ft (4.7 m) |
| Depth | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Installed power | 500 horsepower |
| Sail plan | Brigantine |
| Speed | 13.5 knots |
| Capacity | 786 Passengers, 1450 tons of freight |
| Notes | Official number 19148 |
Orizaba was one of the first ocean-going steamships in commercial service on the west coast of North America and one of the last side-wheelers in regular use. Her colorful career spanned the business intrigues of Cornelius Vanderbilt, civil unrest in Mexico and Nicaragua, and the Fraser River gold rush. The ship was particularly important to Southern California ports, where she called for roughly the last 20 years of her service.