PHOTO Courtesy of Visit Erie
In May, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is considering designating a new national marine sanctuary in Lake Erie adjacent to Pennsylvania. A sanctuary designation would recognize the national significance of the area’s maritime history and cultural resources.
The potential new marine sanctuary would conserve an approximately 740-square-mile area adjacent to the 75-mile-long shoreline of Erie County, Pennsylvania. The 35 known shipwrecks in the area span every type of ship construction — from the 1838 steamboat Chesapeake to speedboats, tugs, barges and workboats lost before 1940. Based on historical records, an additional 161 shipwrecks may lie within the potential sanctuary’s boundaries.
The shores of Lake Erie were also home to numerous Indigenous Peoples before the arrival of Europeans. Some of that history is now submerged in the waters of the lake. Lake Erie also played an integral role in the War of 1812, and Pennsylvania’s waters are rich with history from that war. Prior to the Civil War, Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie waters were home to the nation’s largest fleet of steamboats. This area was also a hub on the Underground Railroad.
Stay up to date on the status of the sanctuary at sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-erie.
