With spring in the air, the ice that covers much of Lake Michigan is finally melting away. All that snow melt means that the lake is unusually clear, and although the water temperature is still far from friendly, it is giving a great view of shipwrecks. During a routine patrol last Friday, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter stationed out of Traverse City, Michigan snapped a bunch of shipwreck photos. Many of them wrecks date from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.
The members of the helicopter patrol posted the images to their Facebook account on Sunday and are asking citizen volunteers to help identify some of the wrecks. You can check out all of the shipwreck photos here (https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC?fref=nf). Lake Michigan …show more content…
Lake Michigan itself has access to the Gulf of Mexico through the Illinois Waterway and to the Atlantic through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Many of the shipwreck photos taken by the Coast Guard are thought to be of ships that were sunk during the heyday of the Great Lakes.
Since then, the economy of the Great Lakes region has transitioned to tourism, including shipwrecks. At the Fathom Five National Marine Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/amnc-nmca/on/fathomfive/index.aspx) in Ontario, snorkelers can get the chance to go diving around some of these aging marine wonders.
Two of the ships have already been identified. First up was the 121-foot James McBride, sunk in October 1857. The second was called the Rising Sun, a 133-foot boat sunk in 1917. The team dubbed their Facebook post “Shipwreck Sunday” and say that the shipwreck photos were taken near Sleeping Bear Point. A recent update by the U.S. Coast Guard shows that one person has already identified a few more of the shipwrecks and has provided a link to more information regarding them here (http://www.michiganpreserves.org/manitou.htm?hc_location=ufi). If you want to take a shot at naming the shipwreck photos, feel free to contact the Coast Guard through their Facebook
The members of the helicopter patrol posted the images to their Facebook account on Sunday and are asking citizen volunteers to help identify some of the wrecks. You can check out all of the shipwreck photos here (https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC?fref=nf). Lake Michigan …show more content…
Lake Michigan itself has access to the Gulf of Mexico through the Illinois Waterway and to the Atlantic through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Many of the shipwreck photos taken by the Coast Guard are thought to be of ships that were sunk during the heyday of the Great Lakes.
Since then, the economy of the Great Lakes region has transitioned to tourism, including shipwrecks. At the Fathom Five National Marine Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/amnc-nmca/on/fathomfive/index.aspx) in Ontario, snorkelers can get the chance to go diving around some of these aging marine wonders.
Two of the ships have already been identified. First up was the 121-foot James McBride, sunk in October 1857. The second was called the Rising Sun, a 133-foot boat sunk in 1917. The team dubbed their Facebook post “Shipwreck Sunday” and say that the shipwreck photos were taken near Sleeping Bear Point. A recent update by the U.S. Coast Guard shows that one person has already identified a few more of the shipwrecks and has provided a link to more information regarding them here (http://www.michiganpreserves.org/manitou.htm?hc_location=ufi). If you want to take a shot at naming the shipwreck photos, feel free to contact the Coast Guard through their Facebook