A new interactive map allows users to locate and learn about shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.

The Michigan Shipwrecks App offers users a closer look at 1,500 shipwrecks submerged in Michigan waters by providing the difficulty level of diving to each wreck and identifying whether it’s accessible by kayak or canoe.

The app also serves as a sort of virtual history lesson, recounting the circumstances of each sinking. It also provides a description of the ship, with photos and drawings, if available.

“This new tool gives divers, kayakers, snorkelers and armchair explorers a chance to learn more about these underwater archaeological sites and the circumstances that led to the shipwrecks,” said Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan History Center. “It’s a wonderfully interactive way to help people connect with this part of Michigan’s maritime history.”

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About one-quarter of the estimated 6,000 wrecks found throughout the Great Lakes are in Michigan waters, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Users can search for shipwrecks by name or location or customize and print their own PDF maps to explore famous and lesser-known wrecks.

Some, like the Syracuse, a two-masted schooner carrying a cargo of coal, sank in Lake Huron during the golden era of Great Lakes’ sailing on Nov. 10, 1863.

Other shipwrecks speak to more recent times when steel behemoths like the 600-foot Cedarville, with its cargo of limestone, collided with a Norwegian ship in the fog on May 7, 1967. Ten crew members died, and the ship, broken nearly in two, sank in more than a hundred feet of water.

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Some wrecks, such as the wooden bulk freighter Daisy Day, lie in as little as 10 feet of water and are suitable for beginning divers and visible to paddlers and snorkelers.

Others, such as the Indiana, a propeller vessel that went down in Lake Superior in 1858, are in more than 100 feet of water and require advanced diving skills.

Some high-profile wrecks, such as the Carl D Bradley, which sank in Lake Michigan in November 1958, are not listed because they are considered underwater burial sites.

Clark reminded the public that Michigan law prohibits removal of any artifacts from shipwrecks.

“The wrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands belong to the people of Michigan,” she said. “If everyone follows the rule of ’take only pictures and leave only bubbles,” we can ensure that these underwater time capsules will be available for future generations to explore, research and enjoy.”

The map will be updated as more ships are discovered, and more information becomes available.

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