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Where are the most shipwrecks in Lake Erie?

Although there are likely over 2,000 shipwrecks in this massive lake, only about 270 have been discovered. This number grows with every year. Interestingly, many of the discovered shipwrecks in the lake are located near Kelleys Island.



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The SS G. P. Griffith was a passenger steamer that burned and sank on Lake Erie on 17 June 1850, resulting in the loss of between 241 and 289 lives.

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The Chesapeake // Lake Erie. The Chesapeake was carrying about 45 passengers when it collided with another ship and began to slowly sink in August 1846.

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“In fact, we think Lake Erie has a greater density of shipwrecks than virtually anywhere else in the world—even the Bermuda triangle.” Because of incomplete record keeping, nobody knows the exact number of shipwrecks that have occurred in Lake Erie, but estimates range from 500 to 2000.

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Of course, the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck was that of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, with none of the 29 members of its crew surviving the waters of Lake Superior. And the most deadly event was the 1958 sinking of the Carl Bradley in Lake Michigan, claiming the lives of all but two of 35 shipmates onboard.

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A 119-year-old shipwreck has been found at the bottom of Lake Erie. The wooden steam barge Margaret Olwill sank in 50 feet of water during a nor'ester in 1899. Eight people died, including the captain, his wife and their 9-year-old son.

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The Lake Serpent was built in Cleveland in 1821. The Lake Serpent carried cargo for eight years until it sank in late September or early October 1829.

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The Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 disappeared in a winter storm 100 years ago, but shipwreck hunters Mike and Georgann Wachter are still enthralled by the mystery of why Lake Erie's largest ghost ship has never been found. The Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 was just 4 years old when it set sail on the morning of Dec.

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The SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 was a train ferry that sank with the loss of between 30 and 38 lives on Lake Erie on December 8, 1909.

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MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest boat on the lakes, at 1,013 feet 6 inches (308.91 m) and capable of loading 68,000 tons of bulk cargo.

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The British pirates led by George Colby attacked from shore in small boats. They would build fires at night on the shore of Lake Erie to lead the French to think they were near a port causing them to run aground on the rocks.

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Storms and waves are probably the number one reason ships sank in Lake Erie,” said Magee, the co-founder of a Cleveland-based group of underwater explorers (CLUE) that search for Lake Erie shipwrecks. Other common causes of foundering here included collisions and fires.

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The Erie region boasts over 20 known wrecks ranging in depth from 10 to 130 feet for all levels of diving experience. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes yet it boasts some of the fiercest weather.

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Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is 210 feet deep.



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In northeastern Ohio and Michigan folklore, Bessie is a name given to a lake monster in Lake Erie, also known as South Bay Bessie or simply The Lake Erie Monster.

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During the 1960s, Lake Erie was declared a “dead lake” due to eutrophication and pollution. The children's book, The Lorax, written by Dr. Seuss, actually included the following line referring to fish: “They will walk on their fins and get woefully weary in search of some water that isn't so smeary.

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Lake Erie is the second smallest Great Lake by surface area, and the smallest by volume. Because of this, the water of Lake Erie also has the shortest residence time. Water in this lake replaces itself every 2.6 years, as opposed to Lake Superior, which takes two centuries.

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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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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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