Shipwrecks · The Big Lake
Lake Superior Shipwrecks
78 documented wrecks, lost between 1875 and 1989. 59 have a published wreck site, marked on the chart. 29 are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wrecks
78
Sites charted
59
National Register
29
Earliest loss
1875
The toll by decade
When Superior took them
Wrecks in this directory by the decade they were lost. It counts documented vessels, not every loss.
How they were lost
By cause
Only where the record says it in plain words.
The big hulls
Largest Superior wrecks by length
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
Lake freighter · built 1958 · lost 1975
SS William C. Moreland
Lake freighter · built 1910 · lost 1910
SS Chester A. Congdon
Lake freighter · built 1907
SS Henry B. Smith
Bulk freighter · built 1906 · lost 1913
SS Emperor
Lake freighter · built 1910
SS D. M. Clemson
Lake freighter · built 1903 · lost 1908
Every Lake Superior wreck in the directory 78
By era of loss, oldest first.
1850–1879 3
- SS CometPropellerLost 1875 · Foundered · 181 ft
- PS CumberlandSide paddlewheelerLost 1877 · Foundered · 214 ft · NRHP
- Wayzata Bay WreckWooden model bargeLost 1879 · Foundered · 85 ft · NRHP · site unpublished
1880–1899 13
- ManisteePacket steamerLost 1883 · 154 ft · site unpublished
- J.S. SeavernsLost 1884 · Foundered · 130 ft · site unpublished
- John M. OsbornPropeller, wooden steam bargeLost 1884 · Collision · 178 ft
- LucerneSchoonerLost 1886 · Foundered · 195 ft · NRHP
- PS City of AshlandPaddle steamerLost 1887 · Fire · 90 ft
- MayflowerScow-schoonerLost 1891 · Foundered · 147 ft · NRHP
- SS Samuel MatherBulk freighterLost 1891 · Foundered · 246 ft
- SS ViennaPropeller, wooden steamerLost 1892 · Collision · 191 ft
- SS Western ReserveBulk carrierLost 1892 · Foundered · 300 ft · site unpublished
- Samuel P. ElyTopsail schoonerLost 1896 · 200 ft · NRHP
- AntelopeSteamship (1861–1880s), schooner barge (1880s–1897)Lost 1897 · Foundered · 187 ft
- SS Henry ChisholmWooden freighterLost 1898 · Foundered · 265 ft · NRHP
- SS R. G. StewartPacket steamerLost 1899 · Fire · 100 ft
1900–1929 42
- T.H. CampTugboatLost 1900 · Foundered · 65 ft · site unpublished
- SagamoreSteamer, whaleback, bargeLost 1901 · Collision · 308 ft
- SS FedoraSteam bulk freighter (steam screw)Lost 1901 · Fire · 282 ft · site unpublished
- SS HudsonLost 1901 · Foundered · 288 ft
- SS M.M. DrakeSteamer, propeller, bargeLost 1901 · Foundered · 201 ft
- SS BannockburnLake freighterLost 1902 · Foundered · 245 ft · site unpublished
- SS Robert WallaceBulk FreighterLost 1902 · Foundered · 220 ft · NRHP
- Thomas WilsonWhaleback freighterLost 1902 · Collision · 308 ft · NRHP
- MoonlightSchooner, later converted to a tow bargeLost 1903 · 206 ft
- SS MarquetteLake freighterLost 1903 · Foundered · 254 ft · NRHP
- Niagara (1904)TugboatLost 1904 · 130 ft · NRHP
- AmboyLost 1905 · Stranded · 209 ft · NRHP
- MadeiraLost 1905 · Foundered · 436 ft · NRHP
- NoquebayOriginally built as a schooner, later converted into a towable bargeLost 1905 · Fire · 205 ft · NRHP
- SevonaLake freighterLost 1905 · Foundered · 300 ft
- SS George SpencerBulk FreighterLost 1905 · Stranded · 242 ft · NRHP
- SS HesperLost 1905 · Foundered · 250 ft · NRHP
- SS IoscoLake freighterLost 1905 · Foundered · 312 ft · site unpublished
- SS Ira H. OwenLake freighterLost 1905 · Foundered · 278 ft
- SS LafayetteBulk carrierLost 1905 · 454 ft
- SS MataafaLost 1905 · 430 ft · site unpublished
- SS MonarchPassenger-package freighterLost 1906 · 259 ft · NRHP
- SS CyprusLake freighterLost 1907 · Foundered · 420 ft
- SS D. M. ClemsonLake freighterLost 1908 · Foundered · 468 ft · site unpublished
- OttawaTugboatLost 1909 · Fire · 151 ft · NRHP
- SS John B. CowleBulk freighterLost 1909 · Foundered · 420 ft
- SS William C. MorelandLake freighterLost 1910 · 600 ft
- GunildaYachtLost 1911 · Foundered · 195 ft
- SS Henry B. SmithBulk freighterLost 1913 · Foundered · 545 ft
- SS LeafieldLost 1913 · Foundered · 248 ft · site unpublished
- SS Benjamin NobleCanallerLost 1914 · Foundered · 239 ft · NRHP
- SS OnokoBulk FreighterLost 1915 · Foundered · 303 ft · NRHP
- French minesweepers Inkerman and CerisolesNavarin-class minesweeperLost 1918 · 135 ft · site unpublished
- SS MyronSteamer, propeller, bargeLost 1919 · Foundered · 186 ft
- SS Superior CityBulk freighter, propellerLost 1920 · Foundered · 450 ft
- MiztecSchoonerLost 1921 · Foundered · 194 ft
- LambtonLost 1922 · Foundered · 108 ft · site unpublished
- SS Harriet B.BargeLost 1922 · Foundered · 300 ft · NRHP
- SS GlenlyonFreighterLost 1924 · Foundered · 328 ft · NRHP
- City of BangorFreighterLost 1926 · Stranded · 372 ft · site unpublished
- SS KamloopsPackage freighter – canallerLost 1927 · Foundered · 250 ft · NRHP
- SS AmericaSteel freighterLost 1928 · Foundered · 183 ft · NRHP
1930–1959 4
- USS PuritanCommercial steamshipLost 1933 · Foundered · 233 ft · NRHP
- SS ArlingtonLake freighterLost 1940 · Foundered · 244 ft
- SS Henry SteinbrennerLake freighter Straight DeckLost 1953 · Foundered · 427 ft
- SS ScotiadocLake freighterLost 1953 · Collision · 424 ft
1960 on 2
- SS Edmund FitzgeraldLake freighterLost 1975 · Foundered · 729 ft
- USCGC MesquiteMesquiteLost 1989 · Scuttled · 180 ft · site unpublished
Year not recorded 14
- Barge 115Whaleback bargeStranded · 256 ft
- Barge 129Whaleback bargeCollision · 306 ft
- D.R. OwenSchoonerFoundered · 100 ft · site unpublished
- PS Lotta BernardSteam bargeFoundered · 125 ft · site unpublished
- SS AlgomaScrew steamerFoundered · 262 ft · NRHP
- SS C. F. CurtisSteam bargeFoundered · 174 ft
- SS Chester A. CongdonLake freighterFoundered · 552 ft · NRHP
- SS EmperorLake freighterFoundered · 525 ft · NRHP
- SS James GayleyLake freighterFoundered · 436 ft · site unpublished
- SS John MitchellLake freighterCollision · 440 ft
- SS PrindocLake freighterCollision · 370 ft · site unpublished
- SS S. R. KirbyFoundered · 312 ft
- Thomas FriantFoundered · 96 ft · NRHP
- USS EssexEnterprise-class gunboatFire · 185 ft · NRHP
Beyond the wrecks
More on Lake Superior
How many shipwrecks are in Lake Superior?
This directory lists 78 Lake Superior 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 Superior?
By year of loss, the earliest in this directory are SS Comet (1875), PS Cumberland (1877), Wayzata Bay Wreck (1879). Older losses happened; these are the earliest with a documented vessel record.
When were the most ships lost on Lake Superior?
Among the wrecks listed here, the 1900s count the most: 26. 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 Superior 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 Superior” 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.