Lake Erie is the second smallest by area and shallowest of the Great Lakes. By volume Lake Erie is the smallest of the lakes but it has the highest concentration of shipwrecks beneath its waves and is a favorite among divers. It is the warmest of the lakes but still very cold to dive.
For those who would like to see the aftermath of a massive battle underwater, one of the best places to go diving for wrecks is in Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon. Another tropical paradise for diving World War Two wrecks is the forgotten and exotic Solomon Islands.
What To Know About Lake Erie
Lake Erie is split between Canada and the United States, so one will need to keep the international boundary in mind when diving in and exploring the lake. On its northern shore is the Canadian province of Ontario and on the southern shore is Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
- Deepest Point: 210 Feet or 64 Meters
The Niagara River flows out of Lake Erie, it then flows down and plunges over the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls before emptying into Lake Ontario.
Even though Lake Erie is small by comparison to the other Great Lakes, it has some of the fiercest weather. Its east-west orientation and its long fetch mean that the weather can abruptly change from beautiful weather to a sailor's nightmare.
Lake Erie is famous for its shipwrecks and there are around 270 confirmed shipwreck locations - although there may be thousands of shipwrecks in total in the lake. Most of the undiscovered wrecks are believed to be around 200 feet deep and well preserved. As the lake is cold and made of freshwater, the wrecks tend to preserve well here.
- Share of Wrecks: It Is Thought Lake Erie Could Have As Must As A Quarter of All The Shipwrecks In The Great Lakes
- Anthony Wayne: A Paddle Steamer that Sank in 1850 Was Located In 2006 Six Miles North Of Vermilion Ohio
Diver's World Courses
The Lake has many shipwrecks. One can choose from wrecks suitable for all diving skill levels. The ships below its surface date from the turn of the century schooners, to steel-hulled freighters (and countless small vessels). Some of the shallower wrecks are great options for new divers while deeper wrecks require proper training and experience.
One company offering diving courses and tours of Lake Erie is Diver's World. They are part of the Pennsylvania Archaeology Shipwreck Survey Team (PASST).
They offer a Wreck Diver (External Survey) course for those who would like to start exploring sunken ships, aircraft, and other things underwater. For this course, one needs to be at least 18 years old and have an NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver Certification or equivalent. During the course, one will learn about safety, hazards, entanglement, location of wrecks, sources of information, search methods, legal aspects, salvage, treasure, and more.
- Requirements: 18+ And NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver Cert or Equivalent
Other courses like a Nitrox Diver Course, Underwater Archeology Course, and Deep Diver Specialty Course are also offered on their website.
Underwater Dive & Osprey Charters Diving Tours
Another company offering diving tours of Lake Erie (and the other Great Lakes) is Underwater Dive. This Midwestern-based company offers professional tours of diving the freshwater wrecks of the Great Lakes through Osprey Charters. They claim there are the remains of over 8,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes (possibly including a number of indigenous craft). Many of these are waiting undisturbed to be discovered and explored.
Underwater Dive claims:
"[Lake Erie] holds one of the highest concentrations of shipwrecks in the world, with nearly 3,000 sunken ships at its bottom. Despite the vast number of wrecks, only an estimated 375 of them have been found."
Osprey Charters is based out of Barcelona in Upstate New York on Lake Erie. Their shipwreck diving prices are as follows.
Zone 1:
- Distance: Up To 10 Miles From Barcelona, NY
- Full: Charter: $1,000
- Walk On Diver: $100
- Wreck In The Zone: John. J. Boland, Betty Hedger, George Whelan, Passaic
Zone 2:
- Distance: Up to 20 Miles From Barcelona, NY
- Full Charter: $1200
- Walk On Diver: $120
- Wrecks In Zone: Dean Richmond, Indiana, Washington Irving, Schooner C, Schooner G, Acme, Brunswick, Carlingford, Oxford, Cracker, Persian, Swallow, Straubenzie, Barge F
Zone 3:
- Distance: 20 Miles and Over from Barcelona, NY
- Full Charter: $1500
- Walk On Diver: $150
- Wrecks In Zone: Tradewind, Crystal, Atlantic, St.James, Canadian Arches, Andrew B, Sterncastle, Niagara, Finney, McGrath
For those looking for more information about Erie's wrecks, Lake Erie Shipwrecks is a website dedicated to the shipwrecks in the lake and offers maps of the shipwrecks. They provide a wealth of information about the wrecks in the lake and are the authors of several books on the shipwrecks.