Table of Contents
How bad was the storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald?
It suddenly sank around 17 miles from Whitefish Bay. Although the captain of the Fitzgerald reported having difficulties during the storm, no distress signals were sent. The entire crew of 29 people died when the vessel sank. No bodies were ever recovered from the wreckage.
How high were the waves when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank?
Edmund Fitzgerald sank at the eastern edge of the area of high wind where the long fetch, or distance that wind blows over water, produced significant waves averaging over 23 feet (7.0 m) by 7:00 p.m. and over 25 feet (7.6 m) at 8:00 p.m. The simulation also showed one in 100 waves reaching 36 feet (11 m) and one out …
What caused Edmund Fitzgerald to sink?
In 1977, the U.S Coast Guard pinned the sinking on massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers. The slow flooding supposedly went unnoticed by the captain and crew until it caused an imperceptible but fatal buoyancy loss and eventually sent the Fitzgerald plunging to the bottom.
How deep was the water where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank?
530 feet
Shortly after 7:10 p.m. on Nov. 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Canadian (Ontario) waters 530 feet (160 metres) deep after encountering a severe storm on Lake Superior.
What does Gitche Gumee mean?
Is the Big Lake Really Called ‘Gitche Gumee? Loosely, it does indeed mean “Big Sea” or “Huge Water,” but just about always refers to Lake Superior. The 1878 dictionary of Father Frederic Baraga, the first one written for the Ojibwe language, says Lake Superior is Otchipwe-kitchi-gami – the sea of the Ojibwe people.
Why does Lake Superior never give up her dead?
Lightfoot sings that “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead”. This is because of the unusually cold water, under 36 °F (2 °C) on average around 1970. But Lake Superior’s water is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth, and bodies tend to sink and never resurface.
Did they ever find the Edmund Fitzgerald ship?
At the request of family members of her crew, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald’s 200-pound bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society on July 4, 1995. The following year, the wreck was found about 530 feet down in Lake Superior, just 17 miles short of Whitefish Point.
What was the weather like when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank?
Summary: This data set contains one worksheet of data, detailing the weather conditions before and after the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975.
How many people died on the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Although the captain of the Fitzgerald reported having difficulties during the storm, no distress signals were sent. The entire crew of 29 people died when the vessel sank. No bodies were ever recovered from the wreckage. Later when the wreck was found, it was discovered that the ship had broken in two.
When did the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sink in Lake Superior?
For other uses, see Edmund Fitzgerald (disambiguation). SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men.
How tall was the wave on the Edmund Fitzgerald?
The Edmund Fitzgerald sank at the eastern edge of the area of high wind where the long fetch (distance that the wind blows over water) produced significant wave heights (average of the highest 1/3 of waves) to over 7 meters (23 ft) by 0000 UTC and to over 7.5 meters (25 ft) at 0100 UTC with a maximum significant wave of 7.8 meters (26ft).