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Shipwrecks, piers, invasive species, even cars: A look at the bottom of Lake Michigan

A shipwreck boiler sits just under the water line at South Fox Island, off the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan. The Eber Ward had picked up corn in Milwaukee and was bound for Port Huron when it ran into ice in the Straits of Mackinac in 1909. The bow was torn off and it sank within 10 minutes.
A shipwreck boiler sits just under the water line at South Fox Island, off the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan. The Eber Ward had picked up corn in Milwaukee and was bound for Port Huron when it ran into ice in the Straits of Mackinac in 1909. The bow was torn off and it sank within 10 minutes.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The remains of the Alva Bradley rest near North Manitou Island just off Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Alva Bradley was bound for Milwaukee when it sprung a leak during a gale in 1894.
The remains of the Alva Bradley rest near North Manitou Island just off Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Alva Bradley was bound for Milwaukee when it sprung a leak during a gale in 1894.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The remains of the Eber Ward shipwreck rests in the Straits of Mackinac. The Ward had picked up corn in Milwaukee and was bound for Port Huron when it ran into ice in the Straits in 1909. The bow was torn off and it sank within 10 minutes.
The remains of the Eber Ward shipwreck rests in the Straits of Mackinac. The Ward had picked up corn in Milwaukee and was bound for Port Huron when it ran into ice in the Straits in 1909. The bow was torn off and it sank within 10 minutes.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The boiler of the George Rogers tugboat lies in Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan at the northern tip of Leelanau County. The George Rogers sank in 1914.
The boiler of the George Rogers tugboat lies in Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan at the northern tip of Leelanau County. The George Rogers sank in 1914.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The remains of the Walter L. Frost and Francisco Morazan shipwrecks lie off the southern coast of South Manitou Island near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Frost sank after it ran aground in 1903. It is now largely broken up because the Morazan, which sank in 1960, ran aground on top of it.
The remains of the Walter L. Frost and Francisco Morazan shipwrecks lie off the southern coast of South Manitou Island near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Frost sank after it ran aground in 1903. It is now largely broken up because the Morazan, which sank in 1960, ran aground on top of it.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The remains of the Francisco Morazan shipwreck lies at the southern coast of South Manitou Island near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Morazan sank in 1960 after it ran aground.
The remains of the Francisco Morazan shipwreck lies at the southern coast of South Manitou Island near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. The Morazan sank in 1960 after it ran aground.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
The wreck of the Comanche is located off Pentwater, Michigan. The Comanche was a steel tugboat that sank in 1985 in rough seas. It sits upright in waters roughly 100 feet deep.
The wreck of the Comanche is located off Pentwater, Michigan. The Comanche was a steel tugboat that sank in 1985 in rough seas. It sits upright in waters roughly 100 feet deep.
Chris Roxburgh / Roxburgh Photography
Cobble rocks intermixed with algae cover the bottom of Lake Michigan near northern Door County in Wisconsin.
Cobble rocks intermixed with algae cover the bottom of Lake Michigan near northern Door County in Wisconsin.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Remnants of Reynolds' Pier, which was built in 1869, break the water surface at Jacksonport, Wisconsin. The remains of two shipwrecks are scattered around the site as well.
Remnants of Reynolds' Pier, which was built in 1869, break the water surface at Jacksonport, Wisconsin. The remains of two shipwrecks are scattered around the site as well.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
The remains of shipments are left behind on the bottom of Lake Michigan at Reynolds' Pier in Jacksonport, Wisconsin. The pier was operational from 1869 to 1890.
The remains of shipments are left behind on the bottom of Lake Michigan at Reynolds' Pier in Jacksonport, Wisconsin. The pier was operational from 1869 to 1890.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
A remaining pier crib made of timber and filled with stone lies offshore from Newport State Park in northern Door County in 2023.
A remaining pier crib made of timber and filled with stone lies offshore from Newport State Park in northern Door County in 2023.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Invasive Eurasian watermilfoil grows near the framework of a pier crib that was part of Higgins Pier, off Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, in 2023. The lumber pier began operation in 1865.
Invasive Eurasian watermilfoil grows near the framework of a pier crib that was part of Higgins Pier, off Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, in 2023. The lumber pier began operation in 1865.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Abandoned gill nets cover the remains of the schooner Island City. The shipwreck rests in 135 feet of water nine miles southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Abandoned gill nets cover the remains of the schooner Island City. The shipwreck rests in 135 feet of water nine miles southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
An archaeologist removes an abandoned fishing net, called a ghost net, from the schooner Island City in 2011. The wreck of the Island City is located southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin, in roughly 135 feet of water.
An archaeologist removes an abandoned fishing net, called a ghost net, from the schooner Island City in 2011. The wreck of the Island City is located southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin, in roughly 135 feet of water.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Scuba divers hover over the remains for the steamer Lakeland off Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin 2014. A Nash sedan, part of its cargo of Nash, Kissel and Rollins automobiles, sits on the sand next to the wreck. The Lakeland sank in 205 feet of water after it sprang a leak in 1924.
Scuba divers hover over the remains for the steamer Lakeland off Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin 2014. A Nash sedan, part of its cargo of Nash, Kissel and Rollins automobiles, sits on the sand next to the wreck. The Lakeland sank in 205 feet of water after it sprang a leak in 1924.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
A 1924 Kissel automobile remains the cargo hold of the steamer Lakeland off Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin in 2014. The Lakeland sank in 205 feet of water after she sprang a leak in 1924.
A 1924 Kissel automobile remains the cargo hold of the steamer Lakeland off Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin in 2014. The Lakeland sank in 205 feet of water after she sprang a leak in 1924.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Scuba divers swim along the boom of a crane lost from a barge off Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the mid-1980s.
Scuba divers swim along the boom of a crane lost from a barge off Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the mid-1980s.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
A crane lost from a barge rests on its side off Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
A crane lost from a barge rests on its side off Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
A front end loader sits at the bottom of Lake Michigan, in 130 feet of water. It is joined by a crane and slag pile, all of which came to rest in water off Manitowoc when the barge they were on overturned in the mid-1980s.
A front end loader sits at the bottom of Lake Michigan, in 130 feet of water. It is joined by a crane and slag pile, all of which came to rest in water off Manitowoc when the barge they were on overturned in the mid-1980s.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society.
The bow of the wooden bulk carrier Australasia can be seen from the surface in 2022. The ship was lost in 1896 when it caught fire, burned to the waterline and sank off the shore of Door County, at what is now Whitefish Dunes State Park.
The bow of the wooden bulk carrier Australasia can be seen from the surface in 2022. The ship was lost in 1896 when it caught fire, burned to the waterline and sank off the shore of Door County, at what is now Whitefish Dunes State Park.
Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Invasive quagga mussels now cover the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Invasive quagga mussels now cover the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Harvey Bootsma / UW-Milwaukee
Karen Baumann, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, cleans off a sample of the lake bottom filled with invasive quagga mussels.
Karen Baumann, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, cleans off a sample of the lake bottom filled with invasive quagga mussels.
Caitlin Looby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A sonar image of the schooner Gallinipper shows it resting in 210 feet of water, inside the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan. Built in 1832, the Gallinipper is the oldest discovered shipwreck in Wisconsin waters.
A sonar image of the schooner Gallinipper shows it resting in 210 feet of water, inside the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan. Built in 1832, the Gallinipper is the oldest discovered shipwreck in Wisconsin waters.
University Of Delaware
A University of Delaware student prepares to deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan. The underwater vehicle uses sonar to collect data on what is hiding on the lakebed.
A University of Delaware student prepares to deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan. The underwater vehicle uses sonar to collect data on what is hiding on the lakebed.
NOAA / Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary