7 ms·

Lake Michigan Is So Clear Right Now Its Shipwrecks Are Visible from the Air

243 points by curtis 12y ago

ghshephard 12y ago
The descriptions of the shipwrecks pictured on that site all seem to be in water shallower than 15 feet. To make their point about how clear the water is, it might have been useful to show some shipwrecks that are deeper than a swimming pool.
- kijin 12y ago
  It really boggles my mind that a 130-foot ship can "sink" in only 6-12 feet of water. (I know that 130' is the length, not the depth, but...) A tall guy could stand on the keel of that wreck and still keep his head above the surface on a calm day. On the other hand, shallow water might be even more dangerous because every wave smashes your ship against the bottom.
therobot24 12y ago
This is incredible! I've done some diving in Lake Huron just north of Port Huron, MI (just past where the 'thumb' connects to Canada for those unfamiliar with the area) and was pretty amazed with the number of wrecks + the clarity at depth (granted we didn't go much deeper than 90ft if I recall correctly). If anyone does any diving I would highly recommend them coming to great lakes (including the Canadian side as well - Tobermory was awesome).
- guiomie 12y ago
  The fresh water of the great lakes is great to preserve wrecks.
  - qbrass 12y ago
    And the weather is great for causing them.
shyne151 12y ago
The US Coast Guard Station out of Traverse City initially took/posted these photos to their Facebook page... then MLive picked it up and now Smithsonian Magazine. Here is their Facebook page if anyone is interested, they post some pretty interesting stuff: https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC
jsat 12y ago
As someone who grew up near Lake Michigan, it is truly bizarre to see the lake this clear. These pictures look like they came out of the Gulf of Mexico!
- antidaily 12y ago
  Many smaller, connected lakes are clear too due to invasive zebra mussels.
  - timboslice 12y ago
    Booo zebra mussels... Cutting my feet and killing off fish. Fun fact, single colonies of zebra mussels may contain over 70,000 mussels per square meter!
- jonknee 12y ago
  To be fair, you're looking at a swimming pool depth (the caption says 6-12'). It's clear, but it would be surprising to not be able to see 6'.
  - morgellons 12y ago
    If you think that's surprising, you either haven't been paying attention or are just talking out of your ass.
danans 12y ago
I went kayaking in Little Traverse Bay (an inlet of Lake Michigan) a few years back, and it is usually always that clear. It was pretty amazing to be swimming and boating in water as clear as the Caribbean in Michigan. Someone told me it is so clear because of all the springs that empty into the Bay.
- roneesh 12y ago
  The Little Traverse Bay is a true treasure, and yes, when I was on it two summers ago, it was crystal clear every day.
- craigyk 12y ago
  I don't know how true this is, but my mom used to live on Lake Michigan when she was ~7 and used to tell me how gross the lakes were before the Clean Water Act, and how amazing the turn-around. If so, it's a nice example for the jaded that government can do some things right.
  - maxerickson 12y ago
    Lake Michigan was fine in the 1980s (when I grew up swimming in it). Even during weather that would really churn things up the water was still fine. Another comment mentions Zebra mussels, which have made the lakes quite a bit clearer in recent years (but not necessarily to good effect).
    - mhurron 12y ago
      With the size of the Great Lakes, it wouldn't be that surprising that some bays or inlets would be clean while others were disgusting. I don't know about Lake Michigan, but I wouldn't really have advocated swimming in the parts of Lake Ontario I was around in the '80s.
      - smhenderson 12y ago
        I was living in Toronto in the 1990's and I wouldn't swim in Lake Ontario if you paid me. And anyway this is a seasonal effect brought on by a larger than usual ice content this past winter. If I read the article correctly this won't last long and run off from surrounding farms and industry will have the lake algae ridden and opaque before too long...
danans 12y ago
I went kayaking in Little Traverse Bay (an inlet of Lake Michigan) a few years back, and it is usually always that clear. It was pretty amazing to be swimming and boating in water as clear as the Caribbean in Michigan. Someone told me it is so clear because of all the springs that empty into the Bay.
Skunkleton 12y ago
Wouldn't that make it Pond Michigan?
arexi 12y ago
Anyone who has dumped a body in there will be pretty worried right now.
mlsmith 12y ago
I'd be worried if I owned the house in the last photo. It appears the land is eroding and the house is REALLY close to the edge.
tobinfricke 12y ago
I hope SkyBox / Planet Labs / etc are getting some great aerial imagery!
coin 12y ago
-1 for disabling zoom. I'd love to see it closeup on my iPad, but the web authors have decided that this isn't permitted. Why do websites go out of their way to remove useful functionality?
- j_lev 12y ago
  Meanwhile I'm geeking out over the number of things Ghostery blocked on the site. 38 - that'd have to be a record.
  - InclinedPlane 12y ago
    That site has the most insufferable mobile css and ads.
- kristianp 12y ago
  -1 for slightly scaling up the image on the desktop, so I can't see the whole height of each image.
ryanackley 12y ago
Maybe they can finally find the wreckage of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Orient_Airlines_Flight_2501 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Orient_Airlines_Fligh...

243 points by curtis 12y ago

The descriptions of the shipwrecks pictured on that site all seem to be in water shallower than 15 feet. To make their point about how clear the water is, it might have been useful to show some shipwrecks that are deeper than a swimming pool.

kijin 12y ago
It really boggles my mind that a 130-foot ship can "sink" in only 6-12 feet of water. (I know that 130' is the length, not the depth, but...) A tall guy could stand on the keel of that wreck and still keep his head above the surface on a calm day. On the other hand, shallow water might be even more dangerous because every wave smashes your ship against the bottom.

therobot24 12y ago

This is incredible! I've done some diving in Lake Huron just north of Port Huron, MI (just past where the 'thumb' connects to Canada for those unfamiliar with the area) and was pretty amazed with the number of wrecks + the clarity at depth (granted we didn't go much deeper than 90ft if I recall correctly). If anyone does any diving I would highly recommend them coming to great lakes (including the Canadian side as well - Tobermory was awesome).

guiomie 12y ago
The fresh water of the great lakes is great to preserve wrecks.
- qbrass 12y ago
  And the weather is great for causing them.

shyne151 12y ago

The US Coast Guard Station out of Traverse City initially took/posted these photos to their Facebook page... then MLive picked it up and now Smithsonian Magazine. Here is their Facebook page if anyone is interested, they post some pretty interesting stuff: https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC https://www.facebook.com/AIRSTATVC

jsat 12y ago

As someone who grew up near Lake Michigan, it is truly bizarre to see the lake this clear. These pictures look like they came out of the Gulf of Mexico!

antidaily 12y ago
Many smaller, connected lakes are clear too due to invasive zebra mussels.
- timboslice 12y ago
  Booo zebra mussels... Cutting my feet and killing off fish. Fun fact, single colonies of zebra mussels may contain over 70,000 mussels per square meter!
jonknee 12y ago
To be fair, you're looking at a swimming pool depth (the caption says 6-12'). It's clear, but it would be surprising to not be able to see 6'.
- morgellons 12y ago
  If you think that's surprising, you either haven't been paying attention or are just talking out of your ass.

danans 12y ago

I went kayaking in Little Traverse Bay (an inlet of Lake Michigan) a few years back, and it is usually always that clear. It was pretty amazing to be swimming and boating in water as clear as the Caribbean in Michigan. Someone told me it is so clear because of all the springs that empty into the Bay.

roneesh 12y ago
The Little Traverse Bay is a true treasure, and yes, when I was on it two summers ago, it was crystal clear every day.
craigyk 12y ago
I don't know how true this is, but my mom used to live on Lake Michigan when she was ~7 and used to tell me how gross the lakes were before the Clean Water Act, and how amazing the turn-around. If so, it's a nice example for the jaded that government can do some things right.
- maxerickson 12y ago
  Lake Michigan was fine in the 1980s (when I grew up swimming in it). Even during weather that would really churn things up the water was still fine. Another comment mentions Zebra mussels, which have made the lakes quite a bit clearer in recent years (but not necessarily to good effect).
  - mhurron 12y ago
    With the size of the Great Lakes, it wouldn't be that surprising that some bays or inlets would be clean while others were disgusting. I don't know about Lake Michigan, but I wouldn't really have advocated swimming in the parts of Lake Ontario I was around in the '80s.
    - smhenderson 12y ago
      I was living in Toronto in the 1990's and I wouldn't swim in Lake Ontario if you paid me. And anyway this is a seasonal effect brought on by a larger than usual ice content this past winter. If I read the article correctly this won't last long and run off from surrounding farms and industry will have the lake algae ridden and opaque before too long...

danans 12y ago

Skunkleton 12y ago

Wouldn't that make it Pond Michigan?

arexi 12y ago

Anyone who has dumped a body in there will be pretty worried right now.

mlsmith 12y ago

I'd be worried if I owned the house in the last photo. It appears the land is eroding and the house is REALLY close to the edge.

tobinfricke 12y ago

I hope SkyBox / Planet Labs / etc are getting some great aerial imagery!

coin 12y ago

-1 for disabling zoom. I'd love to see it closeup on my iPad, but the web authors have decided that this isn't permitted. Why do websites go out of their way to remove useful functionality?

j_lev 12y ago
Meanwhile I'm geeking out over the number of things Ghostery blocked on the site. 38 - that'd have to be a record.
- InclinedPlane 12y ago
  That site has the most insufferable mobile css and ads.
kristianp 12y ago
-1 for slightly scaling up the image on the desktop, so I can't see the whole height of each image.

ryanackley 12y ago

Maybe they can finally find the wreckage of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Orient_Airlines_Flight_2501 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Orient_Airlines_Fligh...