Shipwreck discovered in Lake Superior, 131 years later
A pump is seen in a still image from footage of the shipwreck Atlanta.[Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society]
A ship that sank in 1891 has been discovered in Lake Superior off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society says the Atlanta is well-preserved in the coldest of the Great Lakes.
The shipwreck group posted photos and video with the name of the ship clearly visible at a depth of 650 feet, roughly 35 miles off Deer Park, Michigan. Sonar technology had a critical role in locating the Atlanta.
“It is rare that we find a shipwreck that so clearly announces what it is and the name-board of the Atlanta really stands out,” Bruce Lynn, Executive Director of the GLSHS, said in a news release.
“It is truly ornate, and still beautiful after 130 years on the bottom of Lake Superior,” he said.
The ship was being towed by another vessel when the line snapped during a storm. Crew members got into a lifeboat, though only two survived when that boat overturned.
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