View source for Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve

{{Short description|Reserve to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources in Lake Superior}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox Protected area
| name = Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
| iucn_category =
| photo =SS_Comet_under_sail.jpg
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = The ''Comet'' under sail. The only known treasure ship of Lake Superior, she sank in 1875 with 70 tons of silver ore.<ref name= "Evening News">{{cite news |last=Sundstrom |first=Shine |title=Comet only known treasure ship on bottom of lake  |date= 23 July 1980 |page=4 |url=http://hermes.lssu.edu/~library/|newspaper= [[The Evening News (Sault Ste. Marie)|The Evening News]] |location=Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref>
| photo_width = 283
| map = USA Michigan
| relief = 1
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan
| map_width = 283
| mark = Red_pog.svg
| marker_size = 10
| location = [[Lake Superior]], [[Chippewa County, Michigan|Chippewa County]], [[Luce County, Michigan]] USA
| nearest_city = [[Emerson, Michigan]]
| coordinates = {{coord|46.7772|-84.951|region:US-MI|display=inline, title}}
| area = {{convert|376|sqmi|km2}}
| established = 1987
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]]
| url =
}}
{{GeoGroup}}
The '''Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve''' was established in 1987 to protect and conserve [[shipwrecks]] and historical resources on {{convert|376|sqmi|km2}} of [[Lake Superior]] bottomlands in [[Whitefish Bay]] and around [[Whitefish Point Light|Whitefish Point]], [[Michigan]].  The formation of the [[Michigan Underwater Preserves]] helped stop controversy over [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifact]] removal from shipwrecks of this area.  The preserve is now known for deep, well preserved shipwrecks in clear water accessible to [[scuba divers]] with technical skill and experience.  The preserve is one of the last places in the [[Great Lakes]] to observe shipwrecks without [[zebra mussel]] encrustation.

==History==
Shipwrecks along the southern Lake Superior coast known as the "[[Graveyard of the Great Lakes]]" dramatically increased after the first [[Lock (water transport)|lock]] on the [[St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario)|St. Marys River]] opened this coastline to shipping in 1855.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Thomas |last2=Canfield |first2=Edward |title=Life on a Lonely Shore |page=3 |publisher=Lake Superior State University |location=Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |year=2001 |edition=6th |orig-year=First published 1991 |isbn=0-9706903-0-4}}</ref>  Every vessel entering or leaving Lake Superior must pass Whitefish Point.  The [[Whitefish Point Light]] first established in 1849 is arguably the most important light on Lake Superior.<ref name="Stonehouse">{{cite book |last=Stonehouse |first=Frederick |title=Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast |pages=11–12, 176, 267|publisher=Avery Color Studios |location=Gwinn, Michigan |year=1998 |edition=6th |orig-year=First published 1985 |isbn=0-932212-43-3}}</ref>  More vessels have been lost in the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior.<ref name="Stonehouse"/> Between the loss of the ''Invincible'' in 1816 and the sinking of the [[SS Edmund Fitzgerald|SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'']] in 1975, the Whitefish Point area has claimed at least 240 ships.<ref name="Graveyard">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |title=Graveyard of the Lakes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tog_ll_MYrkC |page=18 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit, Michigan |year=2000 |isbn=0-8143-3226-9 |access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> Vessels are funneled through Whitefish Bay [[downbound]] and [[downbound|upbound]] from the [[Soo Locks]].  Poor visibility from forest fire smoke, snow squalls, and Lake Superior's notorious fogs had deadly consequences with the traffic congestion.  Lake Superior's {{convert|160|mi|km}} of open water and storms from the northwest can build immense seas with offshore waves of {{convert|30|ft|m}} or more.  Such a storm sank the ''SS Edmund Fitzgerald'' {{convert|17|mi|km}} from Whitefish Point in 1975.<ref name="Stonehouse"/>

Sport diver Harrington reported that many of the shipwrecks of the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve were "stripped of important [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] in the 1970s and early 1980s.<ref name="Harrington">{{cite book |author= Harrington, Steve |title= Divers Guide to Michigan |url= https://archive.org/details/diversguidetomic0000harr |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/diversguidetomic0000harr/page/321 321]|publisher= Maritime Press & Great Lakes Diving Council, Inc. |location= St. Ignace, MI  |year=1998|isbn=0-9624629-8-5}}</ref> The State of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) for illegal removal of artifacts from Great Lakes bottomlands.<ref name="Mighty Fitz">{{cite book |author= Schumacher, Michael |title= Mighty Fitz |pages= 158–159|publisher= Michigan Bloomsbury Publishing |location= New York & London |year=2005|isbn=1-58234-647-X }}</ref> The Michigan [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment|Department of Natural Resources]] (DNR) obtained a search warrant in 1992 and raided on the GLSHS's offices and  [[Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum]].<ref name="Mighty Fitz"/>  The DNR found evidence the Shipwreck Society had:

{{blockquote|...removed about 150 artifacts from wrecks located on state-claimed bottomlands. … Shipwreck Society official [Tom Farnquist] described the Society's actions as a kind of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" puzzle.  By preserving the artifacts for display at the Whitefish Point Museum, Farnquist reasoned the Society was really doing the state's job for the DNR.  DNR officer Carl TerHaar challenged Farnquist's line of reasoning however.  "The story we get is, 'We're taking stuff before somebody else does.'  That's a never-ending excuse … saying we'll take it before the next guy does.  That's like looting in the L.A. riots," TerHaar commented.<ref>{{cite news |title= Shipwreck artifact dispute simmers |author=Storey, Jack|date= 4 December 1992|page= A1|url= http://hermes.lssu.edu/~library |newspaper= [[The Evening News (Sault Ste. Marie)|The Evening News]]|location=Sault Ste. Marie, MI|access-date = 2010-08-07}}</ref>}}

Many of the artifacts removed from shipwrecks by the GLSHS without permits are displayed at the [[Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum]] at Whitefish Point by a settlement agreement with the state of Michigan.<ref name="Mighty Fitz"/><ref>{{cite book |last=MacInnis |first=Joseph |title=''Fitzgerald's'' Storm: The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |page=101 |publisher=Baker and Taylor, Inc. for Thunder Bay Press |location=Charlotte, North Carolina |year=1998 |isbn=1-882376-53-6}}</ref> The sport diving community raised a furious outcry over the disparity of special treatment for the museum divers who received no criminal prosecution while individual sport divers were prosecuted freely during the late 1980s and 1990s for removal of artifacts from shipwrecks.  To this day many sport divers boycott the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.<ref name="Harrington"/>

==Preserve formation==

The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect some of the region's most sensitive underwater natural and cultural resources with the central objective to provide enhanced management of shipwrecks.<ref name="mpa.gov">{{cite web |title=NOAA -Marine Protected Areas of the United States, Michigan |url=http://www.mpa.gov/helpful_resources/states/michigan.html |access-date=10 November 2008}}</ref> The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve is administered through the [[Michigan Department of Environmental Quality]] Submerged Lands Program and the [[Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries]] of the Michigan Historical Center.<ref>{{cite web |title=Michigan Department of Environmental Submerged Lands Program |url=http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3677_3702---,00.html  |access-date=10 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Michigan Department of Arts Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries Office of Archaeology Submerged Heritage |url=http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17445_19273_19325-119740--,00.html|access-date=10 November 2008}}</ref>

Scuba divers and history enthusiasts now help ensure the integrity of the preserve which is considered an underwater museum.<ref name="mpa.gov"/>

== Features ==

Many of the twenty-three known shipwrecks lying in depths from {{convert|30|ft|m}} to {{convert|270|ft|m}} are [[mooring (watercraft)|moored]] to protect the wrecks and enhance the safety of divers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve Resource|url=http://www.whitefishpoint.net/index.html|access-date=29 November 2008}}</ref>
The preserve has good visibility and offers deep water diving on a variety of shipwrecks.  The preserve is one of the last places in the Great Lakes to observe shipwrecks without zebra mussel encrustation.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Diver's Guide to Michigan Underwater Preserves |year=2006–2007 |url=http://www.michiganpreserves.org/mupc_06proof.pdf|publisher= Michigan Underwater Preserve Council|location=St. Ignace, Michigan |access-date=18 October 2009 }}</ref> [[Dry suit]]s are recommended due to cold temperatures and unprotected coves or bays.  Most of the dive sites are deep and divers must be certain of their ability and their equipment before they attempt to dive in this preserve.<ref>Harrington, p. 321-322</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve Shipwrecks
|-
!width="120"|Site name
!width="170"|Type
!width="90"|Depth
!width="190"|Coordinates
!width="210"|Disaster History
|-
| ''Allegheny''
| Wood [[schooner]]
| {{convert|30|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|46.016|N|85|10.601|W|name=Allegheny}}
|Stranded at [[Crisp Point Light|Crisp Point]] in a gale on 6 June 1913.  Crew rescued by [[Vermilion Point|Vermilion Point Life-saving Station]] crew with no loss of life.<ref name="Vessels Index">{{cite web |title=Great Lakes Vessels Online Index|url=http://ul.bgsu.edu/cgi-bin/xvsl2.cgi|access-date=11 January 2009 |publisher=[[Bowling Green State University]]}}</ref><ref name="Shipwrecks">{{cite web|title=Shipwrecks Index|url=http://www.whitefishpoint.net/Shipwrecks/shipwrecks.html|access-date=11 January 2009|publisher=Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907124400/http://www.whitefishpoint.net/Shipwrecks/shipwrecks.html|archive-date=7 September 2008}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Comet (steamboat)|Comet]]''
| Wood [[propeller]] [[steamboat|steamer]] [[tug]]
| {{convert|200|ft|m|0}} to {{convert|230|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|43.02|N|84|52.00|W|name=Comet}}
|Sank 26 August 1875 after colliding with the ''Manitoba'' above [[Whitefish Point Light|Whitefish Point]] with the loss of ten lives.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve">{{cite web |title=Michigan Preserve|url=http://www.michiganpreserves.org/whitefish.htm|access-date=11 January 2009 |publisher= Michigan Preserve Council}}</ref>
|-
| [[SS John B. Cowle (1902)|''John B. Cowle'']]
| Steel propeller [[bulk freighter]]
| {{convert|170|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|200|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|44.435|N|84|57.877|W|name=John B. Cowle}}
|Sank 12 July 1909 in [[Whitefish Bay]] after colliding with the ''Isaac M. Scott'' with the loss of fourteen lives out of a twenty-four-man crew.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| [[SS M.M. Drake (1882)|''Drake'']]
| Wood propeller bulk freighter
| {{convert|40|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|50|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|46.588|N|85|05.933|W|name=Drake}}
|Foundered 2 October 1901 off Vermilion Point, along with her tow, the schooner, ''Michigan''.  Crew of both vessels were rescued by the propellers ''Northern Wave'' and ''Superior City'' with no loss of life.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''Eureka''
| Wood schooner [[barge]]
| {{convert|50|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|55|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|50.15|N|85|10.76|W|name=Eureka}}
|Disappeared 20 October 1886 after separating from the steamer ''Prentice'' {{convert|5.0|mi|km}} off Vermillion Point with the loss of all 6 crew members.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''Indiana''
| Wooden schooner barge
| {{convert|100|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|115|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|48.66|N|085|17.16|W|name=Indiana}}
|Sank 6 June 1858 {{convert|40|mi|km}}above Whitefish Point and {{convert|10.0|mi|km}} from shore with the crew of twenty-one taking to the life boats before she sank.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Jupiter''
|Wooden schooner barge
|
|
|Driven ashore near Vermilion Point 27 November 1872 in an arctic gale when the towline parted from steamer ''John A. Dix'' and the schooner ''Saturn''.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/><ref name="Superior Shipwrecks">{{cite web |title= Lake Superior Shipwrecks|url=http://www.whimsea.net/shipwrecks_nov.htm|access-date=16 January 2009 |publisher=htm Whim Sea}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[SS Samuel Mather (1887)|Samuel Mather]]''
| Wooden propeller
| {{convert|140|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|170|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|34.308|N|084|42.325|W|name=Samuel Mather}}
|Sank 21 November 1891 in a collision with the ''Brazil'' in off [[Point Iroquois Light|Point Iroquois]] in Whitefish Bay with no loss of life.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| [[SS John Mitchell (1906)|''John Mitchell'']]
| Steel freighter
| {{convert|120|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|150|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|50.05|N|85|04.81|W|name=John Mitchell}}
|Sank 10 July 1911 off Whitefish Point in a collision with ''William Henry Mack'' with the loss of three lives.<ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| [[Miztec (schooner barge)|''Miztec'']]
| Wooden schooner barge
| {{convert|45|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|55|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|48.073|N|85|04.500|W|name=Miztec}}
|Foundered 13 May 1921 off Vermilion Point with the loss of all seven crew.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| [[SS Myron|''Myron'']]
| Wooden propeller, [[lumber hooker]]
| 45' to 55'
| {{coord|46|48.463|N|85|01.646|W|name=Myron}}
|Foundered {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} west of Whitefish Point on 23 November 1919 with barge ''Miztec'' in tow.  Seventeen lives were lost from the ''Myron''.  Only the Captain survived.  He was picked up by the ''W.C. Franz'' when he was found drifting on wreckage near [[Ile Parisienne]].<ref name="Stonehouse"/><ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Neshoto''
| Wood propeller
| {{convert|45|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|55|ft|m|0}}
|
|Blinded from forest fire smoke, driven ashore and stranded {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} east of Crisp Point Light, crew rescued by Crisp Point Life Saving Crew.<ref name="Vessels Index"/>
|-
| ''Niagara''
| Wood schooner barge
| {{convert|90|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|100|ft|m|0}}
| {{coord|46|49.173|N|85|07.488|W|name=Niagara}}
|Foundered 7 Sep 1887 after breaking tow from the steamer ''Australasia'' {{convert|7|mi|km}} northwest of Whitefish Point Light. All hands, 9 lives, lost.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
|'' Alexander Nimick''
|Wood propeller
|{{convert|100|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|45.743|N|85|12.982|W|name=Alexander Nimick}}
|Pounded to pieces in {{convert|27|ft|m|0}} of water on 21 September 1907 after she was stranded on a sandbar near the mouth of the [[Two Hearted River]] with the loss of 6 lives.  The 11 survivors made it to shore by lifeboat.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''Ora Endress S. S.''
|Fish tug
|{{convert|13|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|15|ft|m|0}}
|
|Capsized and sank about {{convert|1|mi|km}} west of Whitefish Point.  The Whitefish Point lighthouse keeper and 2 other men rescued all 11 crewmembers.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''[[John M. Osborn (steamboat)|John M. Osborn]]''
|Wooden propeller
|{{convert|165|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|51.974|N|85|05.210|W|name=John M. Osborn}}
|Sank 27 July 1884 in a collision with the ''Alberta'' {{convert|6|mi|km}} west-northwest of Whitefish Point with the loss of 3 lives.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Panther''
|Wood propeller
|{{convert|90|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|110|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|38.301|N|84|48.370|W|name=Panther}}
|Sank 26 June 1916 in a collision in a fog with the ''James H. Hill'' off Parisienne Island in Whitefish Bay with no loss of life.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Sadie Thompson''
|Wooden barge
|{{convert|80|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|114|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|42.512|N|84|59.856|W|name=Sadie Thompson}}
|Broke free and sank {{convert|1|mi|km}} south of Whitefish Point during the construction of the Harbor of Refuge in 1967.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''[[Sagamore (barge)|Sagamore]]''
|[[Whaleback]] barge
|{{convert|45|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|65|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|31.085|N|84|37.935|W|name=Sagamore}}
|Sank 29 July 1901 in a collision with propeller ''Northern Queen'' near Point Iroquois in Whitefish Bay with the loss of 2 lives.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Saturn''
|Wood schooner barge
|{{convert|20|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|45.952|N|85|01.547|W|name=Saturn}}
|Pounded to pieces 27 November 1872 after grounding just west of Whitefish Point after breaking her towline with steam ''John A. Dix'' and sister ''Jupiter'' with the loss of 7 lives.<ref name="Shipwrecks"/>
|-
| ''[[Superior City]]''
|Steel freighter
|{{convert|190|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|270|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|43.51|N|84|52.37|W|name=Superior City}}
|Sank 20 August 1920 after her boilers exploded in a collision with steamer ''Willis L. King'' with the loss of 29 lives.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| [[SS Vienna (1873)|''Vienna'']]
|Wood propeller
|{{convert|120|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|148|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|44.46|N|84|57.91|W|name=Vienna}}
|Sank 17 September 1873 after a collision with propeller ''Nipigon'' about {{convert|4|mi|km}} below Whitefish Point with no loss of life.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|-
| ''Zillah''
|Wood propeller
|{{convert|230|ft|m|0}}  to {{convert|250|ft|m|0}}
|{{coord|46|43.75|N|84|54.97|W|name=Zillah}}
|Foundered {{convert|4|mi|km}} off Whitefish Point 29 August 1926.  Her crew of 14 were rescued by the [[U.S. Coast Guard]] and  the ''William B. Schiller''.<ref name="Vessels Index"/><ref name="Michigan Preserve"/>
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Underwater diving}}

* [[Michigan Underwater Preserves]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.michiganpreserves.org/whitefish.htm Michigan Underwater Preserve Council – Whitefish Point]
* [http://www.whitefishpoint.net/index.html Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve]
* [http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3677_3701-14591--,00.html#Whitefish DEQ – Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve]
* [http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3677_3701---,00.html Michigan Shipwreck Site]

{{Clear}}
{{Protected Areas of Michigan}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wrereg}}

[[Category:Archaeology of shipwrecks]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Superior]]
[[Category:Marine parks of Michigan]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Luce County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Chippewa County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Underwater archaeological sites]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Michigan]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in the United States]]
[[Category:1987 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1987]]