Keweenaw Underwater Preserve
| Keweenaw Underwater Preserve | |
|---|---|
  Location within the state of Michigan | |
| Location | Lake Superior, Keweenaw County, Houghton County, Michigan, USA |
| Nearest city | Houghton, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 47°23′06″N 88°22′19″W / 47.385°N 88.372°W |
| Area | 103 square miles (270 km2) |
| Governing body | Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
The Keweenaw Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Lake Superior, it protects waters that lie offshore Keweenaw Peninsula.[1]
Keweenaw Point
[edit]The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which oversees the Keweenaw Underwater Preserve, calls the point of Keweenaw Peninsula a "catcher's mitt" for storm-beset Lake freighters and other boats in the southern half of Lake Superior. Numerous wrecks, overseen as part of this preserve, can be seen here and are the object of recreational dives.
Shipwrecks
[edit]Eagle River, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor are all home to shipwrecks dating back to the 1800s. They are preserved in shallow water and been broken up by ice and storms.[2]
One of the most recent large boats on the Great Lakes to be a total loss, the former United States Coast Guard cutter Mesquite, grounded off Keweenaw in 1989 and is now a diveable wreck in this preserve.[1]
The largest wreck in the preserve is the freighter William C. Moreland which ran aground in 1910 and is a diveable, protected wreck resting in 40-feet of water.
Brendon Baillod is a maritime historian who has compiled information on and located many of the shipwrecks near Keweenaw.[3][4][5]
Known wrecks and dive sites
[edit]| Ship[2] | Ship type | Build date | Sunk date | Fate | Coordinates | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Jacob Astor | Two masted wooden brig | 1835 | 1844 | Ran aground in winter, broke up in severe winter conditions. | N 47° 28.340 W 087° 51.880 | |
| Charles H. Bradley | Wooden steamer | 1890 | 1931 | Grounded, fire broke out, and sunk. | N 47° 02.140 W 088° 29.020 | |
| City of Bangor | Freighter | 1896 | 1926 | Trapped in ice and declared a total loss. | N 47° 27.370 W 087° 44.760 | 
|
| City of St. Joseph | Steel barge | 1890 | 1942 | Struck a reef during a violent Gale, along with companion barge "Transport". | N 47° 28.200 W 088° 06.750 | |
| City of Superior | Wooden propeller | 1857 | 1857 | Slammed into shore during intermittent snow squalls, broken by gales and storms. | N 47° 28.300 W 087° 51.400 | |
| Colorado | Cargo ship | 1887 | 1898 | Struck and stranded on the wreck of propeller James Pickands. | N 47° 25.710 W 088° 17.930 | |
| Fern | Tug | 1883 | 1901 | Hit by a sudden storm while working on the wreck of Colorado. | N 47° 25.460 W 088° 18.020 | |
| Gazelle | Passenger/cargo ship | 1858 | 1860 | Breached upon rocks and broke up. | N 47° 27.430 W 088° 19.270 | |
| John L. Gross | Wooden schooner | 1857 | 1873 | Struck a rock, beached and battered by heavy seas. | N 47° 27.590 W 088° 09.310 | |
| International | 1913 | N 46° 58.970 W 088° 25.840 | ||||
| Langham | Bulk cargo carrier | 1888 | 1910 | Loaded with coal, burned to the waterline, and sunk. | N 47° 22.370 W 087° 55.530 | |
| Lizzie A. Law | Wooden schooner barge | 1875 | 1908 | Grounded during a gale and broke apart. | N 47° 05.344 W 088° 18.931 | |
| Mediator | Wooden schooner barge | 1862 | 1898 | Thrown ashore by gale and sunk. | N 47° 07.310 W 088° 33.010 | |
| Mesquite | USCG Seagoing buoy tender | 1942 | 1989 | Ran aground in winter. Sunk by the Coast Guard as a dive site. | N 47° 23.440 W 087° 44.530 |  |
| William C. Moreland | Lake freighter | 1910 | 1910 | Grounded on Sawtooth Reef, broke into sections, and sunk. | N 47° 25.070 W 088° 19.600 | 
|
| Panama | Wooden bulk freight steamer | 1888 | 1906 | Hit storm, run aground, and broke in two. | N 46° 17.270 W 089° 32.890 | |
| Peninsula | Steam-powered cargo ship | 1849 | 1854 | Snapped propeller shaft backing out from dock and abandoned. | N 47° 25.100 W 088° 17.740 | |
| James Pickands | Wooden bulk freighter | 1886 | 1894 | Hit Sawtooth Reef, gale broke ship in two. | N 47° 25.710 W 088° 17.930 | |
| Sailor Boy | Wooden passenger steamer | 1891 | 1923 | Caught fire, sunk. | N 47° 07.386 W 088° 32.945 | |
| Scotia | Iron steamer | 1873 | 1884 | Ran aground, waves broke the ship, sunk. | N 47° 25.870 W 087° 42.290 | |
| Tioga | Iron package freighter | 1885 | 1919 | Ran aground on Sawtooth Reef during a winter storm, then went to pieces in a gale. | N 47° 26 260 W 088° 16.220 | |
| Transport | Iron barge | 1880 | 1942 | Struck a reef during a violent Gale, along with companion barge "City of St. Joseph". | N 47° 28.201 W 088° 06.750 | |
| Traveller | Wooden sidewheel steamer | 1852 | 1865 | Burned and sunk. | N 47° 27.570 W 088° 09.120 | |
| Uarda | 1912 | N 47° 07.420 W 088° 35.310 | ||||
| Wasaga | Wood steamer | 1876 | 1910 | Burned to a total loss. | N 47° 28.170 W 087° 53.150 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Keweenaw Underwater Preserve". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Archived from the original on September 1, 2025. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "Keweenaw Underwater Preserve | Michigan Underwater Preserves". Michigan Underwater Preserves. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Brendon Baillod's Great Lakes Shipwreck Research". www.baillod.com. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Keweenaw County Historical Society - Ghosts of Gitchee Gumee: Tales of Keweenaw Shipwrecks". keweenawhistory.org. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "History's relics still reside beneath the surface of the Keweenaw Waterway". Copper Beacon. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Keweenaw Underwater Preserve Archived April 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Michigan Underwater Preserve Council
- Historical Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database
