The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

While they may go by the name of Great Lakes, many geographers classify these massive inland bodies of water as seas instead because of their potential to create powerful storms- including one in 1975 that became infamous for sinking the massive shipping vessel the SS Edmond Fitzgerald.

     The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest vessel to navigate the Great Lakes as a shipping barge transporting a type of iron ore known as taconite. There is still both mystery and controversy over how the ship actually sank with theories ranking from hull damage from the storm to a combination of rogue waves.

     The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald undoubtedly changed maritime shipping on the Great Lakes without question however with a swath of new safety regulations taking affect shortly after its sinking.