Get lost in 3D models of sunken Great Lakes ships
Digital Reporter
Sunday, November 29, 2015, 12:59 PM - Shipwrecks, of which there are plenty beneath the waters of the Great Lakes, hold an enduring allure for lovers of the past.
The lakes have long been an economic waterway, prone to storms that have claimed hundreds of vessels, but only a handful of people can afford to learn to SCUBA dive and head down to explore the wrecks in person.
Luckily, the folks at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have the next best thing: Explorable 3D renders of seven ships sunk in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron, off the coast of Michigan.
Fittingly, it's a collaboration with diving company Fourth Element, which came up with the viewing software. NOAA researchers mapped the wrecks, and the result, viewable on the marine sanctuary's website, is eye candy.
"The 3D maps allow you to take a virtual dive around the wreck showing points of interest, wreck history, and stunning underwater photography," the maps' makers write.
The site was featured on Slate's Atlas Obscura blog last week, but although it only features wrecks in American waters, NOAA hasn't left out Canadian enthusiasts.
Though not as snazzy as the 3D models, NOAA also operates a "wrecks and obstructions" database. While mostly containing wrecks in U.S. waters, there are several Canadian entries in the Great Lakes, and quite a few in the waters around New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Even so, it's a very small representation of Canada's own history of shipwrecks, which includes the Halifax Explosion and the famed Edmund Fitzgerald.
