

Folks living along the shores of Lake Michigan always anticipate the end of winter. After the ice melts, some have a window into another world—as frigid springtime waters reveal thousands of ghostly shipwrecks.
For hundreds of years, cargo ships have sailed Michigan’s Great Lakes. They carried coal, grain, salt, steel, stone, and wood along several important shipping routes. During Michigan’s lumbering heyday, the passage between the North and South Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan boomed. The islands offered shelter. But their sandy shallows could be treacherous during violent storms.
“A time for everything,” says the Preacher of Ecclesiastes. Turns out, Solomon’s observation is true of shipwrecks too. Michigan historians estimate that most Great Lake wrecks—some 6,000 of them—happened during October or November.
The U.S. Coast Guard still patrols the shipping lanes. Lieutenant Commander Charlie Wilson says crews often see submerged ships while on helicopter patrol. The water is so clear that visibility from the air is remarkable. This April, Vintage News, a popular history website, reported on the photographing of several historic wrecks in the Manitou Passage.
Of the five wrecks photographed by the Coast Guard team, only two are known shipwrecks. One is the James McBride. Researchers believe it was the first ship to navigate the entire passage from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. This 121-foot wooden ship became stranded on sand on October 19, 1857.
The second photographed wreck is the Rising Sun. It was a 133-foot passenger steamer that ran aground October 29, 1917, as the result of a fall snowstorm. Caught on the rocks near shore, the ship listed to one side and filled with water. According to some accounts, everyone escaped except for one crewman . . . who slept through the entire incident in an unsubmerged part of the vessel. He was rescued the next day.
Scientists say extremely cold water is one reason sunken ships last longer in the Great Lakes. That’s because rust is a reaction of metal atoms with their environment. Higher temperatures make ions react—and therefore rust—faster. Cold water also keeps certain kinds of algae and bacteria at bay.
Another preservation factor in the Great Lakes is fresh water. Salt water speeds up rust formation because electrons react more easily than in fresh.
With a trove of historic shipwrecks, Michigan created an underwater preserve system in the 1980s. Divers who don’t move or remove underwater objects are welcome to explore the wrecks. And with thousands out there, that could take quite a while.
Wait, so by divers do they
Wait, so by divers do they mean professional divers or tourists? Because if they mean tourists than I would love to do this at some point. I think shipwrecks are so cool and fascinating.
Ship wreck
When I was on vacation last year we went to wasconsin and we went out on a tour. We saw multiple shop wrecks on the lake.
shipwrecks are mysterious. I
shipwrecks are mysterious. I wonder what they will find?
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
from us both
btw, what curriculum('s) r u all doing 4 school this year? our list is posted below: (it would b cool some of us were doing the same stuff! btw, we're homeschooled :)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Language Arts: Learning Language Arts Through Literature
History: Sonlight Old World History
Science: Apologia Human Anatomy and Phisology
@ Belwyn R
I do:
Math: Art of Problem Solving Prealgebra (used to do Teaching Textbooks tho!)
Language Arts: Writer's Workshop
History: Sonlight! About to start Core H, which is year two of world history.
Science: Apologia Middle School General Science. When I'm finished I'll do Physical Science.
For Bible and reading, I also do Sonlight. We do so many of the same things!
from both of us/@ KN
so cool!!! yeah, we're doing year 1 for the history, so super close! p.s. sorry about all the comments, everyone! :)
Shipwrecks are so cool and
Shipwrecks are so cool and mysterious. It would be amazing to see some of those, or the Titanic.
Think of all the historical
Think of all the historical artifacts that could be in some... as well as maybe a toxic fluid or two. : )
This is London
math: saxon math Nicole the math Lady
science: apologia anatomy and phisology also general science
reading: robbinson reading list
Grammar: Grammar for writers (compass classroom)
History: New world history (compass classroom)
we do the same science
this is Mylee
wouldn't it be cool if they could have a museum with all the ships there. I would totally go.
SO COOL!
Wow! I love this article. I would love to go see those shipwrecks some time...