Shipwrecks · The Deep End of the Chain
Lake Ontario Shipwrecks
13 documented wrecks, lost between 1780 and 1949. 9 have a published wreck site, marked on the chart.
Wrecks
13
Sites charted
9
National Register
0
Earliest loss
1780
The toll by decade
When Ontario took them
Wrecks in this directory by the decade they were lost. It counts documented vessels, not every loss.
Earlier: HMS Ontario (1780).
How they were lost
By cause
Only where the record says it in plain words.
The big hulls
Largest Ontario wrecks by length
Every Lake Ontario wreck in the directory 13
By era of loss, oldest first.
Before 1850 8
- HMS OntarioSixth rateLost 1780 · Foundered · 80 ft
- HMS SpeedyLost 1804 · Foundered · 80 ft
- HMS TorontoSchoonerLost 1811 · site unpublished
- USS HamiltonSchoonerLost 1813 · Foundered · 112 ft
- USS ScourgeSchoonerLost 1813
- USS SylphSchoonerLost 1823 · Foundered · site unpublished
- HMS WolfeSloop-of-war, altered to brig in 1814Lost 1831 · Foundered · 107 ft
- HMS St LawrenceShip of the lineLost 1832 · 194 ft
1880–1899 1
- St. PeterLost 1898 · Foundered · 136 ft
1900–1929 3
- Annie FalconerLost 1904 · Foundered · 108 ft · site unpublished
- George A. MarshSchoonerLost 1917 · Foundered · 118 ft
- SS Nisbet GrammerCanallerLost 1926 · Collision · 253 ft
1930–1959 1
- SS NoronicPassenger shipLost 1949 · Fire · 362 ft · site unpublished
Beyond the wrecks
More on Lake Ontario
How many shipwrecks are in Lake Ontario?
This directory lists 13 Lake Ontario wrecks that have a documented history: a named vessel with its record. The lake holds far more. Historians count losses on the Great Lakes in the thousands, and most of them are small vessels with no published record or a wreck site nobody has found.
What is the oldest shipwreck in Lake Ontario?
By year of loss, the earliest in this directory are HMS Ontario (1780), HMS Speedy (1804), HMS Toronto (1811). Older losses happened; these are the earliest with a documented vessel record.
When were the most ships lost on Lake Ontario?
Among the wrecks listed here, the 1810s count the most: 3. Wooden sail and early steam, heavy traffic and no weather forecasting made the late nineteenth century the worst run on every lake.
Can you dive Lake Ontario shipwrecks?
Many, yes. Wreck sites on the U.S. side generally belong to the state, and removing anything from them is illegal. Cold water, depth and poor visibility make most of them technical dives. Read the visiting notes on our shipwreck index before you plan one.
Vessel facts from the infoboxes of English Wikipedia articles in its “Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario” category, retrieved 2026-10-11; National Register references link to NPS NPGallery. Shoreline from Natural Earth (public domain). Charts are not for navigation. Corrections to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.