Eagle River Reef, located at the end of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior, Michigan, has been the site of several shipwrecks over the years. Notably, the steamer COLORADO and the steamer H.S. PICKANDS both ran aground on the reef in separate incidents. The COLORADO stranded on the reef on September 19, 1898, and was later declared a total loss. The steamer H.S. PICKANDS had previously wrecked there in 1894.
The reef’s dangerous nature has caused many accidents over the years, with a total of sixteen ships wrecked on the same spot within a sixteen-year period. The new steel steamer MORELAND was the most recent casualty on the reef in 1910.
Efforts have been made to salvage and protect the vessels on the reef, but the dangerous conditions and frequency of accidents have prompted discussions within the Lake Carriers’ Association to seek protection measures for the area.
The COLORADO, which stranded in 1898, was a propeller steamship of 1470 tons and was built in Buffalo, New York, in 1867. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the wreck.
The series of shipwrecks on the Eagle River Reef has brought attention to the need for better protection and safety measures in the area to prevent further losses in the future.
