Lake Erie Shipwrecks & Dive Sites
Lake Erie is the shallowest and stormiest of the Great Lakes — a place where bad weather
forms faster than excuses on a dive boat. Its violent storms, dense shipping routes, and rapid depth changes
have produced one of the highest concentrations of shipwrecks anywhere in the world.
Cold bottom layers preserve everything from 19th-century schooners to steel freighters, making Erie a diver’s
playground of masts, cargo, machinery, and intact hulls that can look like they sank yesterday.
The Shotline Diving Lake Erie Project pulls together wreck histories, dive guides,
archival research, and survey work from both Canadian and U.S. shores. Use this page as a jump-off point
for planning charters, cross-border trips, and deeper research.
Lake Erie – Maps, Index & Tools
Move between the Master Wreck Index, the Shotline wreck map, and regional materials to get both the big picture
and local detail for Lake Erie.
Master Wreck Index – Lake Erie
Filtered view of known Lake Erie wrecks and special sites with depth, GPS, rating, and links to full
Shotline records.
Lake Erie – Shotline Wreck Map
Interactive Shotline map layer showing plotted wrecks, charter areas, and shore dives across Lake Erie.
Click markers for positions, summary details, and links to full pages.
Regions, Ports & Projects
Erie is ringed by harbours and river mouths – from Long Point and Port Colborne to Cleveland,
Erie, and Buffalo. Each area has its own mix of shallow training wrecks, deeper charter sites,
and historically important losses.
Featured “Must Dive” Sites – Lake Erie
Selected wrecks in Lake Erie tagged as Must Dive in the Shotline archive. Expect a mix of
classic training wrecks, mid-depth photo favourites, and more serious dives. Depths are approximate and for
planning context only – always check the full site page and dive within your training.
[sld_must_dive_grid body_of_water=”Lake Erie” posts_per_page=”6″]
Lake Erie Highlights
Example Shallow Training Wreck
Type: Schooner / Barge
Depth: 8–12 m / 25–40 ft
Difficulty: Beginner
A friendly shallow wreck with clear layout and easy navigation – ideal for courses and early-season dives.
Example Mid-Depth Freighter
Type: Steel Freighter
Depth: 24–30 m / 80–100 ft
Difficulty: Intermediate–Advanced
A well-preserved steel hull with superstructure to explore and plenty of detail for photographers.
Example Deep Technical Site
Type: Large Freighter
Depth: 40 m+ / 130 ft+
Difficulty: Technical
A serious dive reserved for trained technical teams, offering extensive structure and long bottom times.
Weather & Safety
Emergency Information
Emergency (Canada/USA): 911
Canadian Coast Guard (Erie Sector): VHF 16
U.S. Coast Guard (Lake Erie Sector): VHF 16 / 22A
Nearest Hyperbaric Chambers: London Health Sciences Centre / Cleveland Clinic
Preservation & Regional Organizations