Isle Royale · United States · Wreck · Freshwater
SS Algoma
The stern remains of Lake Superior's deadliest shipwreck
Photo: National Park Service · Public domain
The Algoma was a passenger steamer that ran aground on Mott Island in a snowstorm in 1885 and broke in two, the worst loss of life in the history of Lake Superior shipping. Parts of her stern are all that remain, scattered between 5 and 30 m (15 and 100 ft).
Also known as Algoma.
Where it is and how deep
48.1114° N, 88.5319° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ship broke in half when she went aground, and only parts of the stern remain, widely scattered between 5 and 30 m (15 and 100 ft). Near shore the wreckage lies mainly in three fields about 30 m (100 ft) apart, with pieces of a mast, pipes, valves and davits visible alongside passenger artifacts.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Algoma
- Type
- Passenger steamer
- Length
- 80 m (262 ft)
- Built
- 1883
- Sunk
- 1885
- Cause
- Ran aground on Mott Island in a snowstorm and broke in two
- Lies
- Stern remains scattered between 5 and 30 m (15 and 100 ft)
Algoma was built in 1883 in Glasgow, Scotland, for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. On November 7, 1885, after a blinding snowstorm had pushed her off course, she ran aground on the southeast shore of Mott Island and broke in two, the stern grounded on the shore and the bow drifting off. It was the worst loss of life in the history of Lake Superior shipping. Much of the stern was salvaged in 1886, and much of the bow was either salvaged or drifted away.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Isle Royale: The park is shut from November 1 to April 15; dive charters run in summer.
Dive videos
Diving the SS Algoma, circa 1977, Isle Royale National Park · Scott McWilliam on YouTube
Sources
- Isle Royale National Park – Michigan Underwater Preserves — Michigan Underwater Preserves Council
- SS Algoma — Wikipedia
- Scuba Diving – Isle Royale National Park — National Park Service
Photo credits
- One scuba diver in green water swims over broken wooden beams and metal plates lying among rounded boulders. by National Park Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Isle Royale
Wreck
Intact engine room, galley and cabins inside a Lake Superior steamer
An upright bow and pilot house on one side of a reef, the stern on the other
Wreck
Twisted steel plating, machinery and the propeller strewn across the bottom
Wreck
A large intact steam engine with its drive shaft and propeller
Similar dives elsewhere
Bowsprit still extending from an 1852 hull at 32 m
Three moorings: bow, stern and amidships at the crack in the hull
Twin propellers at the shot line, then the length of an upturned keel
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A split 1867 hull down a slope from 8 m to 28 m