The Great Lakes include Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario. These freshwater lakes straddle the border of the northern United States and Canada and have been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks. Due to the vast size of the lakes themselves and the high frequency of unexpected storms, shipwrecks were once common. The region of the Great Lakes was once an invaluable shipping and transportation port for the United States. Thousands of ships moved goods, new immigrants, and pleasure seekers who traveled their waters. There are many wreck dives for the adventurous diver to explore, but here are 3 of the most interesting of the Great Lakes.
Wreck Dives of the Great Lakes
The Kamloops sank into Lake Superior in 1927 and remains a unique time capsule from the era. Candy wrappers, pipes, shoes, toothpaste, and other personal effects can be viewed in the hold areas. Debris on the deck when it sank can also be considered scattered across the lake bottom.
Although the stern of the William H. Barnum is gone, this wreck dive offers excellent views of the era’s machinery, including the boiler. The Barnum was in poor shape before she sunk in Lake Huron in 1894 and had been granted insurance for only one voyage. The rudder was removed and can be viewed at a park in St. Ignace.
The Gunilda, built in 1897, was the super-model steam yacht of its day. Covered in golden scroll work and mahogany, the ship was owned by a wealthy oil investor. The oil investor decided that a guide to navigating Lake Superior properly was too expensive and declined to use one. The Gunilda sank in 265 feet of water. Noted by the Cousteau Society as one of the best-preserved wreck dive sites in the world, the Gunilda should not be missed.
