Blogs - The Great Lakes and Underwater Preserves

(Proposed) West Michigan Underwater Preserve

Diving on shipwrecks

Not far from the Hackley and Hume historic sites and the Muskegon County Museum downtown are structures waiting to provide visitors a look at a different time in our history. Yet few people realize the existence of these structures, some more than 100 years old and hundre… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 29, 2008 at 5:58am — No Comments

Keweenaw Peninsula Underwater Preserve

Like the legendary Long Point in Lake Erie, the Keweenaw Peninsula on the South shore of Lake Superior and has often been a “catcher’s mitt” for wayward ships. Over the years many storm driven ships have run out of lake on the Keweenaw. As a result, the 103-square mile preserve is host to a variety of shipwrecks, including one recent addition. In the fall of 1989, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mesquite ran aground off Keweenaw Point while retrieving buoys. During the winter, storms pounded the sh… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:42pm — No Comments

Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve

Whitefish Point reaches into Lake Superior at the Southeast end of the Lake, providing the geographic separation between the “Greatest Lake”, Whitefish Bay and the entrance to the Soo Locks. The locks connect Lake Superior with the Saint Mary’s River and the lower Lakes. All traffic must pass through the bay and around Whitefish Point before entering or leaving Lake Superior. The “Point” provides a natural shelter for ships during late November gales sweeping across the big lake from the Northwe… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:41pm — No Comments

DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve

The DeTour Passage is located at the easternmost tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The area, which includes Drummond Island, became the state’s tenth underwater preserve. The DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve features a variety of dive sites. Among the most popular are the John B. Merrill, which lies south of Drummond Island in about 65 feet of water. Although broken up, the John B. Merrill offers divers an opportunity to see many small artifacts, including tools, ship hardware, and personal… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:40pm — No Comments

Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve

There are nineteen major shipwrecks in the 276 square miles of the Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve in lower Lake Huron. Although there were never any major communities in this region, ships traveling between Buffalo and western ports such as Duluth, Milwaukee and Chicago made this area a busy place where storms, accidents and fires claimed their share of vessels. Divers can expect to find shipwrecks in a variety of conditions, from intact to very broken up. Visibility in this region is often exc… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:38pm — No Comments

Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve

Some of the most exciting shipwreck diving in the Great Lakes is found in the 163 square mile Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve in Lake Huron. One of the most famous shipwrecks in the preserve is the Regina, a 250 foot steel package freighter that sank in the a fierce gale in 1913. The vessel was discovered in 1986. The Regina rests upside down in 80 feet of water with the structure of the ship rising 25 feet from the bottom. Some cargo lies scattered adjacent to the wreck. Visibility at this… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve

The 148 square miles of the Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve is located at the northern tip of two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The five-mile long Mackinac Bridge, which links Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, marks the boundary between these two lakes, splitting the preserve in half. The Straits have always had a reputation as a dangerous area for ships. Storms originating in the lower Lakes can funnel through the Straits, magnifying wind and waves. Over the ye… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:36pm — No Comments

Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve

Undoubtedly one of the best underwater preserve premier dive locations in Michigan, the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve offers divers a variety of Lake Michigan attractions—from historic dock ruins to fascinating shipwrecks of two centuries. The Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve’s most popular dive site is the wreck of the Francisco Morazan, a package freighter that ran aground during a December 1960 snowstorm. The wreck is a few hundred yards offshore from the south end of South Manitou… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:35pm — No Comments

Southwest Michigan Underwater {Peserve

Shipwrecks are links to the past. The Great Lakes have provided transportation for Michigan’s inhabitants for hundreds of years. Thousands of vessels have sailed these “inland seas” including canoes, car ferries, steam engines. The maritime heritage of Southwest Michigan is especially rich because of the variety and duration of human activity. Native Americans, for example, likely found the region’s network of rivers and lakes a convenient means of transportation because rivers eventually flow i… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:33pm — No Comments

Marquette Underwater Preserve

Marquette, Michigan has been a major shipping port on Lake Superior since the discovery of iron ore in 1844. Heavy vessel traffic to and from the port, along with Superior’s gales and fogs made shipwrecks here inevitable in the early days of navigation. The Marquette Underwater Preserve was established in 1990 to promote conservation of the area’s submerged historical resources. The preserve offers outstanding scuba diving along Lake Superior’s shoreline in two areas of Marquette County, the Mar… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:27pm — No Comments

Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve

Grand Traverse Bay has… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:23pm — No Comments

Alger Underwater Preserve

The Alger Underwater Preserve is located on the south shore of Lake Superior near the city of Munising in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This area of Lake Superior’s shoreline includes the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Grand Island and the sheltered waters of Munising Bay. The Alger Underwater Preserve offers several unusual diving attractions in… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 27, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Thunder Bay NMS & Underwater Preserve

Welcome to Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary What? The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the thirteenth national marine sanctuary in a system that extends from American Samoa to Massachusetts. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was established to protect a nationally significant collection of over 100 shipwrecks, spanning over a century of Great Lakes shipping history. Th… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 25, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Michigan Underwater Preserves

The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - are known for their beauty and the wealth of resources within and around them. The combined lakes contain one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water, and they are often referred to as the "sweetwater seas". The Great Lakes could cover the entire continental United States with over 9.5 feet of water. They are large enough to influence the regional climate, cooling summers and tempering winters, as well as increasing amounts of rain… Continue

Added by MUPC on July 25, 2008 at 7:09am — No Comments

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