View source for Whitefish Bay

{{Short description|Major bay of Lake Superior}}
{{Other}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Whitefish Bay
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| image = Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, cropped from ISS067-E-7708.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Taken on April 10, 2022 during [[Expedition 67]] of the International Space Station; north is oriented to the right
| pushpin_map = Michigan
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| location = [[Lake Superior]], [[Michigan]] and [[Ontario]]
| coords = {{coord|46|42|8|N|84|47|20|W|type:waterbody_region:US-MI|display =inline,title}}<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1622146}}</ref>
| type = [[Bay]]
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| outflow = [[St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)|St. Marys River]]
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| elevation = {{convert|604|ft}}<ref name=gnis />
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'''Whitefish Bay''' is a large bay on the eastern end of [[Lake Superior]] between [[Michigan]], United States, and [[Ontario]], Canada. It is located between [[Whitefish Point]] in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness [[Canadian Shield]] of Ontario. The [[Canada–United States border|international border]] runs through the bay, which is heavily used by shipping traffic northbound from and southbound to the [[Soo Locks]].

The [[Whitefish Point Light]] marks the entry of the bay, [[Ile Parisienne Light]]<ref>{{cite rowlett|onnw|access-date=22 November 2008}}</ref> is in the middle of the bay, and [[Gros Cap Reefs Light]] lies near the outlet of the bay and the approach to the [[Soo Locks]] at [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan]].

Whitefish Point Lighthouse is the oldest active light on Lake Superior. Part of the lighthouse station houses the [[Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum]]. It holds [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] from the shipwrecks listed below and has information on the notable wreck of {{SS|Edmund Fitzgerald}} in 1975, in which all 29 crew were lost.

After the Soo Locks opened in 1855 and ship traffic increased on Lake Superior, Whitefish Bay was the site of numerous [[shipwreck]]s, often due to hazardous weather. The [[Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve]] was established to preserve many of the shipwrecks of Whitefish Bay for sports [[scuba diver|divers]]. Known wrecks include the ships {{ship||Comet|shipwreck|2}}, {{SS|John B. Cowle|1902|2}}, [[SS M.M. Drake (1882)|''Drake'']], {{SS|Samuel Mather|1887|2}}, {{ship||Miztec|schooner barge|2}}, {{SS|Myron||2}}, ''Niagara'', {{ship||John M. Osborn|steamboat|2}}, {{SS|Sagamore|1892|2}}, {{SS|Superior City||2}}, and {{SS|Vienna|1873|2}}.<ref>[http://www.michiganpreserves.org/whitefish.htm Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve]</ref>

==Gallery==
{{gallery|mode=packed|align=center|width=135|height=135
|File:Motor vessel Blough aground in Lake Superior (Image 1 of 5) 160602-G-ZZ999-001.jpg|{{MV|Roger Blough}} aground in Whitefish Bay with [[Prince Township Wind Farm|Prince Wind Farm]] in the background
|File:Whitefish Point beach.JPG|Near Whitefish Point Lighthouse in August 2010
}}

==In popular culture==

Whitefish Bay is included in the lyrics of singer/composer [[Gordon Lightfoot]]'s memorial tribute "[[The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald]]".

==See also==
* [[Ile Parisienne]]
* [[Batchawana Bay]], a smaller sub-bay of Whitefish Bay
* [[Goulais Bay]], a smaller sub-bay of Whitefish Bay
* [[Point Iroquois Light]]
* [[Sandy Islands Provincial Park]]
* [[Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm]]
* [[Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://marinas.com/view/lighthouse/670_Ile_Parisienne_Light_Sault_Ste._Marie_ON Ile Parisienne Light photographs from Marinas.com]
* [http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/hiawatha/recreation/lighthouses/point_iroquois_light/ Iroquois Light]
* [http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/ Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum]
* [http://www.michiganpreserves.org/whitefish.htm Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve]
* [http://www.wpbo.org Whitefish Point Bird Observatory]

{{Great Lakes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bays of Michigan]]
[[Category:Bays of Ontario]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Chippewa County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Landforms of Algoma District]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Ontario]]
[[Category:Canada–United States border]]
[[Category:Bays of Lake Superior]]