Natural science:Lake Michigan

The Great Lakes hold over 80 percent of the United States’ freshwater.

The Guest is qualified in every way to discuss Lake Michigan ship wrecks.
Her enthusiasm makes Cathy Green a dedicated steward of maritime history. A nautical archeologist she is, but in this episode you will meet a professional diver and executive the Maritime Museum, Manitowoc,  Wisconsin.

Now, 962 square miles of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan have become protected waters — and not for the reason you might think.

Although the lake provides a habitat for a diverse group of plants, fish, amphibians and other animals, it is also home to a precious archaeological trove. The waters along the Wisconsin coast are a shipwreck graveyard containing 36 known vessels, and researchers say there could be nearly 60 others still to be discovered.

 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the area the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, citing shipwrecks of “exceptional historical, archaeological and recreational value.”

The ships got there over the course of hundreds of years of travel and commerce along the lakes, and Lake Michigan’s chilly, fresh waters acted as the perfect preservative. While salty waters can decay sunken ship parts and corrode metal, fresh water doesn’t. The very water that brought hundreds of ships to ruin in Lake Michigan served to preserve them for future generations to study. Many of the ships that wrecked along the state’s coast look much like they did the day they sank.(Washington Post)

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/press/wisconsin/

PATRICK MINER

save.these.stories @gmail.com


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