What's at the bottom of Lake Erie?
What's at the bottom of Lake Erie? Lake Erie Sturgeon Growing up to 10 feet long and weighing 200 pounds, sturgeon are toothless vacuums that troll Lake Erie's bottom for snails, mussels, and crayfish with electroreceptive barbels. Their bodies were once harvested by fishermen for caviar.
How deep are shipwrecks in Lake Erie?
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.
Is there sunken treasure in Lake Erie?
But investigating that spot alone would require a year or two of searching. Fair warning: Mike Wachter says anyone who tries to find the M&B shouldn't do it for the gold. “Like most ships on the bottom of Lake Erie, there is no treasure,” he says. “The only real treasure is the stories and the history.”
Why do so many ships sank in Lake Erie?
“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.
What was found at the bottom of Lake Erie?
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.
Is it safe to swim in Lake Erie?
Currents in Lake Erie can be dangerous! Any current flowing faster than 2 mph is considered dangerous. Dangerous currents can exceed 5 mph — faster than an Olympic swimmer can swim.
What is unusual about Lake Erie?
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.
What country owns Lake Erie?
Situated on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States, Lake Erie's northern shore is the Canadian province of Ontario, specifically the Ontario Peninsula, with the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York on its western, southern, and eastern shores.
Has anyone swam across Lake Erie?
The first recorded swimmer to cross Lake Erie was Pennsylvania teenager Pat Budney in 1975. He swam from Long Point to Presque Isle in Pennsylvania, a distance of 26 miles that took him 26 ½ hours. The state park beach where he finished now bears his name.
Were there ever pirates on Lake Erie?
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.
What was the worst shipwreck on Lake Erie?
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.
What is the Lake Monster in Lake Erie?
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.
Why is Lake Erie so famous?
Why is Lake Erie so important? Erie is the most biologically productive and diverse of all the Great Lakes due to its warm shallow waters. Alongside this astounding biodiversity, more than 11 million people get their drinking water from the Lake Erie watershed.
What famous ship sank in Lake Erie?
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.
Can you dive to the bottom of Lake Erie?
With an average depth of just 62 feet and a maximum depth of 210 feet, the wrecks of schooners, barges, tugs and sidewheel steamers are mostly accessible to SCUBA divers. How did you get involved in Lake Erie shipwreck diving?
What was the deadliest shipwreck in the Great Lakes?
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.
Why was Lake Erie considered dead?
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.