Free Republic

Though the past winter was the hottest on record, it was chilly enough on the East Coast to send seasonal sheets of ice creeping across the Great Lakes. Now that that ice has cleared with spring, Lake Michigan is clear enough that shipwrecks lying on the lake bottom can be seen from the air. The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City noted the crystal clear water conditions and the lost ships during a routine patrol. Last week, they posted a handful of pictures to their Facebook page. The images come from the area near Sleeping Bear Point known...

Each spring on Lake Michigan, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see shipwrecks due to the incredibly clear springtime waters. Every winter, ice forms on the Great Lakes. That ice is often thick enough that the people who live on their shores can not only go ice fishing, but even ride snow mobiles across their surfaces. At the coming of spring, the ice melts, leaving the waters of some of the lakes especially clear for a while until warmer weather creates algae blooms and other events that reduce the water’s clarity. In the early spring, the waters of Lake...