Shipwrecks in Lake Michigan are easy to spot with a drone in crystal clear spring waters
Shipwrecks in Lake Michigan are easy to spot with a drone or other aircraft due to the incredible clear springtime waters. The waters will remain crystal clear until warmer weather creates algae blooms. Check out some of the amazing aerial shots below.
Vintage News reports that in the early spring the waters of Lake Michigan are so clear that when you use your drone you’re able to see shipwrecks deep below the surface of the water.
The frigid water, in April the temperature is still in the 30s, and the fact that the lakes are freshwater are reasons that the shipwrecks or so well preserved. Some of them have been down there for over 100 years.
It is estimated that that are about 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. About 1,500 of them are located in the Michigan waters.
This shipwreck is the Rising Sun, a 133-foot long wooden steamer in 6 to 12 feet of water north of Pyramid Point, where she sank on October 29, 1917. Fortunately, all 32 people on board the vessel were saved (U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City), according to the Smithsonian Mag.
Earlier this year, Photic Zone created this very detailed 81MB photo that consists out of more than 80 individual images. About the photo below he said:
“I captured this 80+ image mosaic of the shipwreck PORTLAND in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The 81 megapixel final cropped image has some great definition and detail. This 150′ wooden schooner ran aground in 1877 and rests in about 8 feet of crystal clear water in Lake Huron, at Besser Bell. There is a small section of the bow in the upper right of the image. This shipwreck is easy to snorkel, dive, or paddle over. April 4, 2020.”
“Closest access is the Besser Natural Area parking lot. 100 yards to the beach. Then a short paddle to the wreck.”
As a paddleboarder myself, I especially like this photo below.
You can learn more about these and other shipwrecks on this website here. If you have any drone photos of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes be sure to share them with us!
Photo credits: Photic Zone, Smithsonian Mag
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