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A mysterious shipwreck has been located in the murky depths of Lake Michigan.
Non-profit Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) found the wreck "far offshore" of West Michigan after setting sights on the vessel last year, a statement read.
Crews had already searched a large area for the shipwreck, but until now had come up empty. They eventually found the vessel using a Deep Vision Side sonar. A statement from the MSRA said that shipwrecks are "never exactly where they are supposed to be."
"This one was discovered within the search grid we identified after analyzing dozens of newspaper articles and legal documents from the period to narrow down the target area," Craig R. Rich, director of the MSRA told Newsweek. "We towed a side-scan sonar in a back-and-forth pattern—not unlike mowing a gigantic lawn—until the image came into view. When it did, there was great excitement onboard the search vessel!"
At the moment, the name of the wrecked ship, and where it came from, remain a mystery. This is because the MSRA does not announce details until they are able to confirm particulars by visiting the wreck in person.
"While we are fairly sure of this shipwreck's identity, we've been mistaken before," Rich said. "So, we are waiting to announce the name until we can place technical scuba divers on the wreck—hopefully before the weather turns foul again this fall. Once a positive identification is obtained, we will work to document the wreck site, and prepare to tell the story in a meaningful way—on our website, on social media and at our annual shipwreck show next March in Holland, Michigan."
"I can tell you this vessel is located 'mid-lake' off West Michigan, in an area where Lake Michigan is hundreds of feet deep. The wreck is well beyond sport diving depth, which will require specialized gear and training to document. Divers will be breathing a special mix of gases to survive at this depth. A single dive will take nearly three hours to accomplish due to the slow speed at which a diver must ascend from such depths."
The association managed to get a picture of the shipwreck as the sonar ran "over the top of the wreck," which at first looks unclear. However the MSRA says it is clear when the image that the wreck is "intact and upright."
Lake Michigan is one of the Great Lakes and the second largest of them by volume.
According to the MSRA, only 300 shipwrecks have been discovered in the lake around Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
There are many more suspected to be on the lake floor, which have not yet been discovered.
Due to its volume, Lake Michigan resembles an ocean and generates its own weather patterns, although it is made up entirely of fresh water.
The MSRA has been searching Lake Michigan for shipwrecks since the late 1990s and have been involved with more than 20 discoveries, Rich said.
"And while we have ticked those 20 vessels off the list, several targets remain in the depths of the Big Lake, as we call Lake Michigan. After finding nearly all the shallower shipwrecks, we have been focusing on the deep ones over the past several years. For example, we located the John V. Moran off Muskegon, Michigan, in 2015," Rich said.
"The Great Lakes were the highways of the 19th century, with thousands of vessels plying the waters from Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland to the lumber regions of West Michigan and, later, the iron ore and copper mines of the Upper Peninsula," Rich said. "Thousands of these vessels came to tragic ends on the lakes, with probably 1,500 in Lake Michigan alone. And with a maximum depth of 900 feet, and an area covering nearly 23,000 square miles, the lake has hidden these vessels well for decades."
Some of these shipwrecks may date back to the 1800s.
Perhaps the most famous shipwreck to occur in Lake Michigan was that of the PS Lady Elgin, which sank on September 8, 1860. The wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship sank off Port Clinton, Illinois, while sailing against some extremely strong winds.
The ship was then rammed by a schooner named Augusta of Oswego. Over 300 people died when the ship sank.
Update 04/08/2023 9:53 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include quotes from Craig R. Rich.
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About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more