Great Lakes Shipwrecks Map & Explorer

Estimates vary significantly, but historians and maritime archaeologists believe the Great Lakes contain between 6,000 and 8,000 shipwrecks, more than any other comparable body of freshwater in the world. Lake Superior alone is believed to hold approximately 350+ wrecks. The cold, fresh water preserves wooden and steel hulls remarkably well compared to saltwater environments.

The Edmund Fitzgerald, a 729-foot ore carrier that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with all 29 crew members lost, is the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck. Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 ballad 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' cemented its legend. The wreck lies in two pieces at about 530 feet. Ontario prescribes the site as a marine archaeological site, and diving within the regulated area requires provincial licensing.

Many Great Lakes shipwrecks are popular scuba diving destinations. Michigan has one of the largest collections of protected underwater preserves in the world, with nine underwater preserves covering over 2,700 square miles. Notable dive sites include the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Alpena, Michigan), the Alger Underwater Preserve (Munising, Michigan), and the Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve.

The Edmund Fitzgerald sank November 10, 1975 during a severe Lake Superior storm with waves estimated at 25 feet. The official cause was never definitively determined. The U.S. Coast Guard concluded flooding from hatch cover failures. The Lake Carriers' Association attributed it to shoaling damage. Canadian investigators suggested structural failure. The sudden disappearance with no distress call remains one of the great maritime mysteries.

The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (also called the White Hurricane) was the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster ever to strike the Great Lakes. Over November 7–12, 1913, sustained hurricane-force winds and mountainous waves sank 12 ships and stranded 31 others. 248 sailors died, mostly in Lake Huron where 8 ships sank simultaneously. Most victims were never recovered.

Lake Erie is believed to have the highest concentration of shipwrecks (estimated 2,000+ due to its shallower depth and high historical traffic), but Lake Superior is home to the most famous and best-preserved wrecks due to its cold water and depth. Lake Huron holds several important storm wrecks from 1913. Lake Michigan has notable car ferry and ore boat wrecks off the Wisconsin and Michigan shorelines.

The Griffin (or Le Griffon) was built by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1679, the first sailing vessel on the Upper Great Lakes. On her maiden voyage she vanished in a storm on Lake Huron or Lake Michigan with a crew of six. The wreck has never been definitively identified despite numerous claimed discoveries. It remains the oldest lost ship in Great Lakes history.