More than 3 times as many shipwrecks were discovered in Lake Michigan last year as ever before. Why?

Shipwreck hunters, divers, even a little girl out fishing found some of Lake Michigan's most historic secrets last year in record numbers.

Thirteen new shipwrecks were discovered, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The previous record was just four shipwrecks in 2016, and usually there are only two or three, said Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archeologist with the historical society. For comparison, she said no shipwrecks were discovered in Wisconsin’s Lake Superior waters last year.

"It really kept us hopping," Thomsen said.

One lucky discoverer was a 4-year-old girl who was out fishing near Green Island in Lake Michigan with her father when she spotted the remains of the George L. Newman. The ship sank in 1871 after it failed to navigate through heavy smoke from the Peshtigo Fire, which to this day is the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.

The identified shipwrecks were:

• Ebenezer, built 1890, sank 1905, no deaths.

• Emma Leighton, built 1867, sank 1885, no deaths.

• George L. Newman, built 1855, sank 1871, no deaths.

• Grey Eagle, built 1857, sank 1869, no deaths.

• Humko, built 1946, sank 1956, no deaths.

• Hungarian, built 1853, sank 1880, no deaths.

• Moonlight Gambler, abandoned fishing boat, no historical data.

• Sassacus, built 1867, sank 1893, no deaths.

• Satisfaction, built 1871, sank 1899, no deaths.

• St. Peter, built 1868, sank 1874, no deaths.

• Trinidad, built 1867, sank 1881, one death. The only one on the list to lose someone, the Trinidad was bound from Port Huron to Chicago with a cargo of coal when it foundered and sank off Algoma. Crew members found it leaking and started pumps, but with little effect. They soon abandoned the schooner.

• A naphtha launch (sometimes called a vapor launch) and a schooner also were discovered, but have yet to be identified.

Why were so many shipwrecks discovered?

A combination of sand movement and awareness of who to contact are likely why so many were discovered, Thomsen said.

Water levels fluctuate naturally in the Great Lakes from year-to-year. In Lake Michigan specifically, the difference between record high and low water levels is more than 6 feet, said Adam Bechle, coastal engineer at Wisconsin Sea Grant. These dramatic fluctuations can change the beach profile and move sand, Bechle said, because waves break in different spots depending on where the water sits. As water levels rise, sand bars drift towards land, and when they fall they move further out into the lake.

Bechle said it's possible the switch between record low water levels in 2013 to a record high in 2020 and then near average today caused the sand bars to shift dramatically, uncovering shipwrecks in shallower waters.

Thomsen also believes that more people know to report them to the historical society when they spot them.

A total of 780 shipwrecks are believed to be at the bottom of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, she said, but only 250 have been identified so far.

There are 36 shipwrecks in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which covers more than 900 square miles. Wisconsin became one of 15 national marine sanctuaries in the U.S. in 2021. The marine sanctuary designations, which are given by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, improve protections for places with important ecological and historical underwater features. The title also helps direct resources to the sites to facilitate scientific research, tourism and education.

Wisconsin's Lake Michigan sanctuary was the second in the Great Lakes, after the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron along Michigan's northeast coast. Two other national marine sanctuaries have been proposed in Lakes Erie and Ontario.

More: These three men have paddled across all five Great Lakes and raised money to protect them

More: Wisconsin’s national marine sanctuary is a museum beneath the water. Here’s what to know.

Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X @caitlooby.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 13 shipwrecks were discovered in Wisconsin's Lake Michigan last year