Editing Lake Erie (section)

====Diving for shipwrecks====
Lake Erie is a favorite for divers since there are many shipwrecks, perhaps 1,400 to 8,000 according to one estimate,<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> of which about 270 are confirmed shipwreck locations.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> Research into shipwrecks has been organized by the Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center, located on the grounds of the Great Lakes Historical Society.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> Most wrecks are undiscovered but believed to be well preserved and at most {{convert|200|ft|m}} below the water surface.<ref name="twsX15a">{{cite news |author=Nass |first=Shannon M. |date=October 3, 2010 |title=Lake Erie shipwrecks, well-preserved by fresh water, are favorites among divers |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10276/1091928-140.stm |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124080448/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10276/1091928-140.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> One report suggests there are more wrecks per square mile than any other [[Fresh water|freshwater]] location, including wrecks from Indigenous watercraft. There are efforts to identify shipwreck sites and survey the lake floor to map the location of underwater sites, possibly for further study or exploration.<ref name=twsX28a/> While the lake is relatively warmer than the other Great Lakes, there is a thermocline, meaning that as a diver descends, the water temperature drops about {{convert|30|F-change|abbr=out}}, requiring a [[wetsuit]].<ref name=twsX15a/> One estimate is that Lake Erie has a quarter of all 8,000 estimated shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.<ref name=twsX15a/> They are preserved because the water is cold and salt-free.<ref name=twsX15a/> Divers have a policy of not removing or touching anything at the wreck.<ref name=twsX15a/> The cold conditions make diving difficult, requiring divers with skill and experience.<ref name=twsX15a/> One charter firm from western New York State takes about 1,500 divers to Lake Erie shipwrecks in a typical season from April through October.<ref name=twsX15a/>

{{blockquote|Among the diving community, they are considered world class, offering opportunities to visit an underwater museum that most people will never see.|reporter Shannon M. Nass of the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'', 2010<ref name=twsX15a/>}}

[[File:Steamship General Anthony Wayne.jpg|thumb|right|The paddle steamer ''Anthony Wayne'' sank in 1850 and was located in 2006 about {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} north of Vermilion, Ohio.]]

In 1991, the 19th-century [[paddle steamer]] ''Atlantic'' was discovered.<ref name=twsX23/> It had sunk in 1852 after a collision with the steamship ''Ogdensburg'', {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} west of [[Long Point, Ontario]], and survivors from ''Atlantic'' were saved by the crew of ''Ogdensburg''.<ref name=twsX23/><ref name=twsJanY315>{{cite news
 |title        = The Catastrophe on Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = August 23, 1852
 |url          = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7061FFE3955147B93C1AB1783D85F468584F9
 |access-date  = January 25, 2010
 |archive-date = November 11, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024121/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7061FFE3955147B93C1AB1783D85F468584F9
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> One account suggests 130 people drowned<ref name=twsX23/> while another suggests about 20 drowned.<ref name=twsJanY315/> There was speculation that the sunken vessel had been a gambling ship, and therefore there might have been money aboard, but most historians were skeptical.<ref name=twsX23>{{cite news
 |title        = Lake Erie Journal; A Dive to Solve a Treasure Mystery
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = June 28, 1991
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/lake-erie-journal-a-dive-to-solve-a-treasure-mystery.html
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = May 24, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130524211804/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/lake-erie-journal-a-dive-to-solve-a-treasure-mystery.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

In 1998, the wreckage of ''Adventure'' became the first shipwreck registered as an "underwater archaeological site"; when it was discovered that ''Adventure''{{'}}s propeller had been removed and given to a junkyard. The propeller was reclaimed days before being converted to scrap metal and brought back to the dive site.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> In 2003, divers discovered the steamer ''Canobie'' near Presque Isle, which had sunk in 1921.<ref name="twsX28a">{{cite news |author=Spice |first=Byron |date=June 16, 2003 |title=Archaeologists surveying Lake Erie floor for shipwrecks |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030616underwater0616p2.asp |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124074313/http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030616underwater0616p2.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other wrecks include the fish tub ''Neal H. Dow'' (1910), the "steamer-cum-barge" ''Elderado'' (1880),<ref name="twsX28a" /> ''W. R. Hanna'',<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> ''Dundee'' which sank north of Cleveland in 1900,<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> ''F. H. Prince'',<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> and ''The Craftsman''.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> In 2007, the wreck of the steamship named after [[Anthony Wayne|"Mad" Anthony Wayne]] was found near [[Vermilion, Ohio]], in {{convert|50|ft|m}} of water; the vessel sank in 1850 after its boilers exploded, and 38 people died.<ref name="twsZ37" /> The wreck belongs to the state of Ohio, and salvaging it is illegal, but divers can visit.<ref name="twsZ37">{{cite news
 |agency       = Associated Press
 |title        = 1850 shipwreck found in Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = The Star
 |date         = June 21, 2007
 |url          = https://www.thestar.com/article/227944
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = October 23, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023100213/http://www.thestar.com/article/227944
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> In addition, there are wrecks of smaller vessels, with occasional drownings of fishermen.<ref name="twsX214">{{cite news
 |author       = Art Barnum
 |title        = Lake Erie Search Ends For Missing Fisherman
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = April 19, 1994
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/04/19/lake-erie-search-ends-for-missing-fisherman/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204134642/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-04-19/news/9404190247_1_lake-erie-toledo-and-cleveland-capsized
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>