Over the last 150 years, ships big and small have been swallowed by the powerful waves of Lake Superior. Many of these have occurred just a stone’s throw away from the North Shore and are still being examined and explored to this day. Here are 7 of the most interesting and eye-opening shipwrecks the state of Minnesota has ever seen!
1.The Samuel P. Ely went down in 1896 just off the shore of Two Harbors, making it a popular spot for divers to explore.
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- The U.S.S. Essex was set on fire in the Duluth Harbor where some remnants of the ship can still be found.
Wikipedia
- The Hesper freight ship went down in 1905 off the coast of Silver Bay, making it easily accessible to those looking for an underwater adventure.
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- The Duluth-based Edmund Fitgerald is the most famous and recent of these Minnesota wreckages, mysteriously sinking in 1975.
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- The Thomas Wilson freighter and the George Hadley steam boat collided and went down in the ship graveyard that is the Duluth Harbor, still filled with iron ore.
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- The Madeira schooner famously went down in the storm of 1905, crashing into the lakeside cliffs around Splitrock Lighthouse.
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- The S.S. Mataafa also went down in the famous 1905 storm, however this one occurred back in Duluth where Minnesotans flocked the shorelines to catch a glimpse of the decrepit boat.
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While a major shipwreck hasn’t happened in Minnesota in over 40 years, these incidents show just how dangerous and eerie the swells of Lake Superior can be!
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Wikipedia
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