Of the five great lakes in North America, Lake Erie is the 4th largest in terms of surface area. In the creation of a Lake Erie Illustrated Map, the illustrator has to include both Canada and the United States particularly the Ontario Peninsula and the states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The illustrated map will also include the 31 islands located on the western side of the lake.
About 40 to 50 feet below the surface of Lake Erie is assumed to be the secret location of lost Schooner Ship Lake Serpent. Tom Kowalczk, diver and director of Cleveland Underwater Explorers discovered what is assumed to be the 50-foot vessel that sunk in 1829. It was believed that the schooner was carrying stone on the last trip from South Bass Island to Cleveland which was a small port at that time with a small population of 1,000.
Many believed that Lake Serpent sank because of a storm. The bodies of 2 of its crew were washed ashore while the other 2 crew members were never found. If they were unfortunately left in the boat, there wouldn’t be much left. The location of Lake Serpent has not been divulged because an Indiegogo project still has to raise $13,000 to fund a diving excursion.
The divers will be looking for the shipwrecked Lake Serpent not the Fair Play or Victor that were also lost of the lake and have never been found. The wreck will be identified through a distinctive figurehead. Lake Erie has the most shipwrecks however; some of those that have been recorded defy the imagination.
There were sightings of a lake monster in the 1980’s but is speculated to be a lake sturgeon, a once abundant fish species that is now near extinction. Lake sturgeons measure more than 7 feet but according to sightings, the lake monster is about 30 feet and looks like a snake or serpent.
It would be very interesting to viewers if the Lake Erie Illustrated Map includes an illustrated image of the South Bay Bessie, the name given to the lake monster. It can deliver a unique illustration of the lake where some of the roughest shipwrecks have happened.