How do cruise ships get to the Great Lakes?

The St. Lawrence Seaway, completed in 1959, connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, enabling oceangoing ships to reach major cities like Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland. Along the way, the Welland Canal enables ships to bypass the Niagara Falls, yet limits their width to 78 feet.



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Great Lakes Essential Resources: Shipwrecks. Crossing one of North America's greatest waterways could be dangerous and many ships were lost in the Great Lakes due to storms or other accidents. It is estimated that there are over 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, some dating back as far as the 17th century.

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Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by area (31,700 mi2 /82,100 km2). It is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 406 meters (1,332 feet). By most measures, it is the healthiest of all the Great Lakes.

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It's not as if they cruise down the river and dump off their waste — they don't, — those are held and shipped out and treated at various ports as well. said Salmons, adding that vessels are heavily regulated on the lakes. These ships are particularly modern and they burn very clean fuel, said Salmons.

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Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.

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According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, the lakes have caused the sinking of around 6,000 ships and the death of 30,000 people. However, historian Mark Thompson, the author of Graveyard of the Lakes, has estimated that there are over 25,000 shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes.

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Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great Lake Because of its somewhat isolated location and long cold winters, not much farming is done along Superior's shores. This means lower amounts of nutrients, sediments, and organic material are floating around the lake.

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