Hidden Shipwreck Revealed by Lake Erie's 'Extremely Low' Water Levels

Abnormally low water levels at Lake Erie gave some people a glimpse into history when they discovered what appeared to be a hidden shipwreck still equipped with two cannons at the bottom of the lake.

The discovery occurred as a winter storm moved through the Great Lakes region, bringing with it frigid temperatures. Strong winds followed the storm and created a drastic water level change at Lake Erie on Saturday where the Toledo, Ohio, side of the lake was 12 feet lower than the Buffalo, New York, side.

The phenomenon, also known as a seiche, caused the drastic change and allowed people a glance at the bottom of the lake, where they found the shipwreck.

Toledo news outlet WTOL's chief meteorologist Chris Vickers posted photos of the discovery on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday afternoon.

"SHIPWRECK uncovered! This is absolutely stunning a #shipwreck with what appears to be two cannons uncovered on the bottom of #LakeErie. The extremely low water this weekend near #Toledo has revealed hundreds of years of history!" Vickers wrote with the post.

However, National Museum of the Great Lakes director of archaeology and research Carrie Sowden told WTOL that she didn't think the uncovered items resembled a ship. She also doubted that the cylindrical items were cannons.

"From the photos I looked at last night, and there were just a couple, I saw a lot of straight lines [on the structure], which to me says more pier/dockage than ship," Sowden said, according to the report. "But that doesn't mean it isn't a ship, it just means that's my first impression."

Sowden was unable to examine the site in person, as the waters had returned to normal levels in that part of lake by Monday.

The 12-foot water level difference meant that the bottom of the lake was exposed in parts of its western side as the wind pushed the water to the eastern side. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines previously told Newsweek that the 12-foot difference in water levels was "very impressive."

Researchers expect that as many as 2,000 ships are buried beneath the lake's turbulent waters, but only a few hundred have been found.

A webpage by the NASA Earth Observatory explained that the lake was named after the erielhonan—a word translating to "long-tailed cat" in the language of the Iroquois tribe that once lived along the shores—for its fickle behavior, which resembled that of the "unpredictable, and sometimes violent" eastern cougar.

"You can have water that is as calm as a pond one moment. Then, within minutes, groups of huge vertical waves can be smashing down on you separated by intervals of just a few seconds," said Kevin Magee, an engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center, in the report. "The shallowness of the lake actually makes the waves worse."

The recent winter storm also exposed a 112-year-old shipwreck in Acadia National Park in Maine, CNN reported.

Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE), which searches the lake for shipwrecks, believes that the lake has a greater density of shipwrecks than even the Bermuda triangle, according to the report. Some of the wrecks are nearly 200 years old.

Newsweek has reached out to CLUE by email for comment.

In 2018, the National Museum of the Great Lakes found The Lake Serpent, the oldest-known shipwreck in Lake Erie. The ship sank in 1829, according to a report by Smithsonian.

The changing water levels that occurred over the weekend were only temporary, but they exposed other structures too, including a huge boulder. The winds have since died down, allowing the lake to level out and hide the structures beneath its depths once more.

Update 1/16/24, 2:40 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.