T H E G L E N C O E L I T E R A T U R E L I B R A R Y
i
Study Guide
for
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The Tempest Study Guide 9
By 1592 Shakespeare had moved to London
and was working as an actor. He had also begun
to write plays. Around this time, Shakespeare’s
name appears in a pamphlet in which a university-
educated playwright calls him “an upstart
crow.” The educated playwright pokes fun at
the thought that a lowly actor without a good
education would dare to write plays. Two years
later Shakespeare joined an acting company, the
Lord Chamberlain’s Men, for whom he eventually
wrote most of his plays. His early works were,
for the most part, based on English history. Other
early works include comedies and a few tragedies.
Shakespeare went on to write the plays that
earned him great recognition. From the mid-
1590s to about 1607, he wrote masterpieces such
as Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello,
and Macbeth. All were produced by Shakespeare’s
acting company in the famous Globe Theater.
Shakespeare was a shareholder in the Globe,
which was located just outside London.
In Shakespeare’s day, his plays were
immensely popular, probably because they held
appeal for all levels of English society, from peasants
and poor city folk, to other writers and university
graduates, to Queen Elizabeth I herself.
Shakespeare’s heroes left his audiences in awe, his
heroines melted their hearts, his villains froze
them in horror, and his clowns and comic figures
left them in stitches. The language of his dramas
ranges from the most delicate and elevated poetry
to clever puns and bawdy jokes.
In spite of this acclaim, Shakespeare chose to
leave the stage at the height of his success. His
final four plays—of which The Tempest is considered
the greatest—all share a melancholy sense of
things ending, but all four also focus on happiness
lost and then regained.
In 1610 Shakespeare left London to retire
to his large home in Stratford. He lived his final
years as a wealthy man and town leader, dying
on April 23, 1616, at the age of fifty-two. On
his tomb in Stratford’s church rests a sculpted
bust, one of only two authentic likenesses of
the man regarded as the greatest writer who
ever lived.
Meet William Shakespeare
He was not of an age, but for all time.
. . . Shine forth, thou star of poets
—Ben Jonson, poet and contemporary
of Shakespeare
In 1611, the year that The Tempest was first
performed, William Shakespeare was fortyseven-
years old and had written more than thirtyfive
plays. Considered the greatest dramatist of his
time, he was an accomplished actor, part-owner of
the best theater in London, the greatest lyric poet
of his time, and the monarch’s favorite playwright.
He was also a wise investor and a wealthy man.
With all these accomplishments, perhaps it is not
surprising that Shakespeare’s thoughts had begun
to turn toward retirement and a quieter life in the
country with his family.
Even though more facts are known about
Shakespeare than any other writer of his time, we
know little about the man compared to what we
know about later literary figures. Shakespeare was
born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a bustling country
market town about seventy-five miles northwest of
London. His birthday is celebrated on April 23,
although no records exist to prove this is his date of
birth. His father was a glove maker, grain merchant,
and local political leader. In 1582, at the age of eighteen,
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. They
had three children, one of whom died at age eleven.
10 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to
th’quick,
Yet with my nobler reason ’gainst my fury
Do I take part. The rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance.
—The Tempest, Act 5, Scene 1
With these words, Prospero, the magician and
main character of The Tempest, makes a crucial
decision to forgive his enemies. Like the man who
wrote these words, Prospero has struggled in life
but is now prepared to leave behind both his triumphs
and his failures. He is ready to turn his eyes
toward the future.
Fresh winds were blowing across Europe when
Shakespeare was writing The Tempest, his final
play. European countries were exploring the
boundaries of the known world and founding new
settlements in America. Europeans were coming
into contact with people from other parts of the
world and wrestling with the questions such contact
raised. The Renaissance, a period of reawakened
interest in the learning of ancient Greece
and Rome and in human achievements in general,
had spread from Italy to England. Scientific discoveries
about the solar system and the world
threatened to undermine traditional ways of looking
at people and their station in life.
In England itself, momentous changes were
occurring. The nation had broken with the
Roman Catholic Church less than a century
before, shattering the unity the Church had
forged. England was on its way to becoming a
great power, although the people were troubled by
the death of their great queen, Elizabeth, who was
succeeded by James I in 1603. The English language
had grown during the 1500s into a rich and
flexible tool, one used effectively by playwrights
and appreciated by audiences.
One change that strongly influenced
Shakespeare as he was writing The Tempest was the
public’s taste for romances. Lighter in tone and containing
more music, dance, and spectacle than the
tragedy, the romance became Shakespeare’s favorite
form for his final plays. Romances often took as
their theme the need to be patient and trust in
providence during times of misfortune. Romances
featured such fairy tale–like elements as magic, shipwrecks,
young lovers reunited after various trials,
exotic settings, and supernatural creatures. In general,
characters in romances are not as well developed
as those in tragedies. Shakespeare’s romances
lacked the profound psychological portraits of tragic
characters like Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear.
All of these changing currents influenced
Shakespeare’s final works, of which The Tempest is
considered the greatest. Many critics and readers
detect in the play a melancholy feeling of retirement,
withdrawal from life, and wistful resignation.
In fact, historical records indicate that just
before finishing The Tempest, probably in 1611,
Shakespeare retired to Stratford to live a quiet life
with his family. The play’s main character, the
magician Prospero, is frequently identified with
the author himself. In fact, one famous speech by
Prospero at the end of The Tempest is often
referred to as Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage.
However, other admirers of the play caution
against viewing the play as semiautobiographical.
They argue that Shakespeare was only in his midforties
when he returned to Stratford and that it
was far too early for him to be making a farewell
to the stage he dominated. These readers suggest
that Shakespeare was merely proving that he
could write in any style, including the romance—
the latest fad at the court of King James I. As the
greatest and most versatile writer of his age, he
seemed to succeed at anything he tried.
Whether one sees autobiographical elements
in The Tempest, its theme of suffering, repentance,
and forgiveness is powerful. In a society
where bloody revenge was common and even
admired, the meaning of The Tempest was radical.
Even the fact that the supernatural elements
facilitate forgiveness does not hide an important
message of the play—the real magic of forgiveness
springs from within the human heart.
The fairy-tale world of The Tempest has important
lessons for those in the real world, both of
Shakespeare’s time and today. It is better to choose
forgiveness and belief in a brighter future—what
Prospero calls “the rarer action”—than to choose
vengeance. It is better to spread the magic of human
Introducing the Play
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The Tempest Study Guide 11
love than to practice the magic of spells, enchantments,
and “airy charms.” And it is better to choose
life in the real world, even with its terrifying freedom,
heartbreaks, and evil, over life in a fairy tale.
THE TIME AND PLACE
The setting of The Tempest is an isolated island in
the Mediterranean Sea, somewhere between Italy
and the north coast of Africa. The play takes
place roughly during Shakespeare’s time, the
early 1600s. Unlike Shakespeare’s earlier
plays, The Tempest is not set in the real
world but in an enchanted fairy-tale world
of the imagination that blends everyday
people and elements with monsters
and spirits.
The theaters of Shakespeare’s time were different
from our own. Knowing how The Tempest
would have been staged during the early 1600s
will help you understand the actions of the
characters and visualize how they looked on
stage. The first difference that you would probably
notice is that there were no actresses.
Males played all the parts, including the female
roles. Ariel, the sprite in The Tempest, probably
would have been acted by a young boy.
Most theaters of Shakespeare’s time were
six- or eight-sided buildings without roofs.
Three galleries housed the audience. The
galleries faced an open courtyard. The simple
stage extended out into the yard. At the back
of the stage were a balcony, two doors, and
a trapdoor leading into a space underneath
the stage.
Because the sets were simple, the texts of
the plays described the time of day, the setting,
and other important information. (Notice,
for example, in The Tempest how often someone
asks what time it is.) Costumes had to be
elaborate to help audiences differentiate characters.
Most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed
in the Globe, the theater his company
built on the River Thames across from London.
Another theater used by Shakespeare’s
acting troupe, the King’s Men, was the
Blackfriars. Many scholars believe The
Tempest and Shakespeare’s other late
romances were written for the Blackfriars
and performed there. Unlike the Globe, this
theater had a roof. The enclosure allowed
stagehands to create artificial lighting with
candles. Admission prices were up to five
times higher than those for the Globe. As a
result, a more cultured audience came to the
Blackfriars, one familiar with the popular new
romances. The Tempest was also performed in
1611, indoors at the court of King James I,
and two years later, to celebrate the wedding
of the king’s daughter.
As you read The Tempest, try to imagine
what it would have been like to see the play in
1611—no actresses, no realistic sets, no
electric lights, and no sound system to amplify
voices or provide background music. Though
stagecraft was in its infancy, Shakespeare’s
audiences would probably have been
impressed by special effects like the disappearing
banquet in Act 3 and the flying chariot
of Act 4.
Did You Know?
12 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
FOCUS ACTIVITY
Do you believe advertisements and commercials place too much emphasis on physical beauty?
Discuss
Why do we value physical beauty? Does society equate physical appearance with personal worth and goodness?
As a class, discuss society’s view of physical beauty and its worth.
Setting a Purpose
Read to find out what Shakespeare says about the relation between physical beauty and inner virtues.
BACKGROUND
A Storm and a Shipwreck
Even though The Tempest is set in an imaginary, fairy tale–like world, actual events strongly influence the
plot. Like most writers, Shakespeare used real-life events as starting points for his creations and let his artistic
imagination transform them. One event that scholars believe influenced Shakespeare as he was writing The
Tempest was a famous shipwreck. In the spring of 1609, nine ships left England for the newly founded colony
of Jamestown, Virginia. During the voyage, the lead ship, the Sea-Adventure, was separated from the others
during a storm and feared lost. The crew and passengers were shipwrecked in the Bermudas. They survived
and eventually reached Jamestown about a year later.
Pamphlets and letters describing the powerful storm, the shipwreck, and the year that the survivors
spent as castaways were later published. The most detailed letter, written by William Strachey, was circulated
to members of the Virginia Company, the group that sponsored the Jamestown colony. Shakespeare
knew several leaders of the Virginia Company, and scholars believe he almost certainly read Strachey’s letter.
Several key descriptions included in the letter appear in altered form in The Tempest. For example,
Strachey describes the dreadful storm as so powerful “we could not apprehend in our imaginations any
possibility of greater violence.” Just when all appeared lost, land was spotted, and by “the gracious and
merciful providence of God” the ship was saved. The survivors found that the island was “habitable and
commodious” rather than “dangerous and dreaded” and the home of “devils and wicked spirits,” as they
had previously believed. While on the island, the survivors fell to quarreling, and violence was narrowly
avoided. As you read The Tempest, Act 1, notice how Shakespeare portrays the tensions between the shipwreck
survivors and their faith in divine providence.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
abhorred [ab ho rd
] adj. hated
allay [ə la¯
] v. to calm
chide [ch ¯d] v. to scold
fen [fen] n. marsh or bog
fortitude [for
tə to¯¯¯od] n. bravery
homage [hom
ij] n. tribute
perfidious [pər fid
e¯ əs] adj. treacherous
precursors [pri kur
sərs] n. ones who go before
prerogative [pri ro
ə tiv] n. privilege
Before You Read
The Tempest Act 1
The Tempest Study Guide 13
Name Date Class
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
In Act 1, Scene 2, Prospero recounts the events that brought him and Miranda to the island. The
sequence of events has important implications later in the play. Use the chart below to list these events
in chronological order. You may add or omit ovals from the chart.
Active Reading
The Tempest Act 1
Prospero and his wife rule as
Duke and Duchess of Milan.
Their only child, Miranda, is born.
14 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
What passages, images, or incidents from the first act linger in your mind?
Explain why they made an impression on you.
Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret
1. How does Gonzalo behave during the storm? Antonio and Sebastian? What clues to
their characters do you get in this scene?
2. How did Ariel and Caliban come to be Prospero’s servants? How do they feel about
their status?
3. What is Prospero’s emotional state at the end of Act 1? What might be a reason for it?
Name Date Class
Responding
The Tempest Act 1
Responding
The Tempest Act 1
The Tempest Study Guide 15
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyzing Literature (continued)
Evaluate and Connect
4. In what way are Miranda and Ferdinand like characters in a fairy tale? Why might
Shakespeare have chosen to portray them in this way?
5. In the play, Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love immediately. Do you believe in “love at
first sight” in real life? What are some dangers of falling in love so fast?
Literature and Writing
Character Analysis
Ariel and Caliban are probably the two most striking characters in The Tempest. Compare and
contrast them on a separate sheet of paper, citing lines from the play to support your written
analysis. Note what kinds of words Shakespeare uses to describe each character, with what
activities and actions each is associated, and what their attitudes are toward Prospero. In what
ways are Ariel and Caliban opposites? In what ways are they similar?
Extending Your Response
Literature Groups
In the Focus Activity on page 12, if you discussed the role of physical beauty in our society. In
your literature group, take a look at how Act 1 of The Tempest addresses this issue. Pay particular
attention to Miranda’s opinions about the people she sees and meets and to Prospero’s statements
about physical appearance. Cite lines from the text that describe the connection
between physical appearance and inner worth. Also look for indications that Shakespeare may
be creating tension between the outward appearance and the inner value of characters.
Learning for Life
In Scene 2, lines 89–105, Prospero admits that he neglected his duties as a ruler. Reread this
passage and decide what major fault Prospero possessed as a ruler. Then explain what qualities
you think a modern ruler of a country or state needs. What characteristics might be especially
harmful in a modern-day ruler? Note an example of both a good and a bad leader and explain
what personal qualities he or she displays.
Name Date Class
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16 The Tempest Study Guide
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FOCUS ACTIVITY
American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The less government we have, the better.” Do
you agree or disagree?
Chart It
Work with a partner to make a simple, two-column chart listing the advantages and disadvantages of
having a government.
Setting a Purpose
Read to discover what the characters in The Tempest think about government and what Shakespeare
himself might have thought.
BACKGROUND
A Golden Age?
In his speech in Scene 1 (lines 158–164), Gonzalo describes how he would govern the island if he were
king. His description is based on an essay called “Of the Cannibals” by the French philosopher Michel de
Montaigne (1533–1592). Montaigne describes the primitive people of an imaginary nation who are so
naturally good that they do not need business, written language, mathematics, justice and political systems,
money, or jobs. “The very words that import [mean] lying, falsehood, treason, dissimulation, covetousness,
envy, detraction, and pardon, were never heard amongst them,” Montaigne marvels.
Montaigne, along with Gonzalo, seems to be saying that people are inherently, or naturally, good; the
evils of society make people evil. In the world Gonzalo portrays, people do not need social conventions to
control them; their good natures automatically make them behave well. The idea of a “golden age,” in
which a perfect society exists without need of laws, dates back at least to the times of the Greek philosopher
Plato (428–348 B.C.) and the Roman poet Ovid (43 B.C.–A.D.18). Both writers described societies similar
to the one pictured by Gonzalo. In this view, society itself is the evil force that corrupts people who
are basically good.
As you read Gonzalo’s speech, ask yourself whether Shakespeare himself agrees with the idea that such
a society is possible. What evidence can you find that shows Shakespeare’s beliefs about people’s basic
natures and the influence of society and laws? For clues to the playwright’s attitude, notice how Antonio
and Sebastian react to Gonzalo, as well as which event follows Gonzalo’s speech after Alonso falls asleep.
Also pay attention to Caliban’s speeches in Scene 2.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
abominable [ə bom
ə nəbəl] adj. dreadful
celestial [sə les
chəl] adj. heavenly
enmity [en
mə te¯] n. hostility
nimble [nim
bəl] adj. quick, alert
prate [pra¯ t] v. to chatter, gab
spendthrift [spend
thrift] n. wasteful spender
trifle [tr¯
fəl] n. insignificant thing
upbraid [up bra¯ d
] v. to scold
Before You Read
The Tempest Act 2
Active Reading
The Tempest Act 2
The Tempest Study Guide 17
Name Date Class
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
In Scene 1, lines 201–291, Antonio presents several arguments to convince Sebastian to commit a crime.
Clarifying the steps of this argument will help you better understand the two characters and will also supply
information about the past events that influence the action of the play. Use the chart below to record
the series of points Antonio makes as he tries to persuade Sebastian. After writing the line, paraphrase it.
“th ¢ occasion speaks thee, and / My strong imagination sees a crown / Dropping
upon thy head ” : Now is your big chance to steal the throne.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
Describe your reaction to Scene 2.
Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret
1. How would you describe the moods of Alonso, Gonzalo, Antonio, and Sebastian during
Scene 1?
2. Where were the castaways going when they were shipwrecked? Why is Alonso especially
unhappy?
3. Which character speaks in verse in Scene 2? Which characters in prose? Why might
Shakespeare have made this distinction?
4. Based on what you learned in this act, which character would you call the villain of the
play? Why? Support your answer with examples from the text.
Responding
The Tempest Act 2
Name Date Class
18 The Tempest Study Guide
Responding
The Tempest Act 2
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyzing Literature (continued)
Evaluate and Connect
5. Act 2 contains a serious scene followed by a humorous one. What are some reasons
Shakespeare might have chosen to include both kinds of scenes? Do you think that the
juxtaposition of serious and funny episodes reflects real life? Explain.
6. As The Tempest begins, Alonso has overthrown Prospero, the legitimate ruler of Milan.
Prospero himself admits early in the play that he was an inattentive ruler. Is the overthrow
of a legitimately chosen government ever acceptable? Refer to the lists you created
in the Focus Activity to remind yourself of what role a government performs in
society.
Literature and Writing
Analyze Theme
Act 2 introduces the important theme of providence, the belief that God directs all actions.
Believers in providence accept seemingly unhappy events as part of God’s plan with faith
that misfortunes will turn out to be blessings in the end. In addition, believers in providence
refuse to despair because despair indicates doubt in God’s all-powerfulness. Analyze how the
theme of providence is developed in the words and actions of Gonzalo and Alonso.
Extending Your Response
Literature Groups
This act contains two very entertaining episodes. One is Scene 1, lines 199–320, when
Antonio convinces Sebastian to kill Alonso. The other is Scene 2, lines 14–105, when
Trinculo crawls under Caliban’s cloak and is discovered by Stephano. In your group, choose
one of the scenes to read aloud. Discuss how each character feels and why. Practice capturing
the character’s emotions in your voice. Then read the scene aloud.
Music Connection
In Act 2 of The Tempest, Ariel sings to Gonzalo. Using a piano, guitar, or other musical
instrument, compose a melody to accompany Ariel’s lyrics. Perform the song for your class.
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The Tempest Study Guide 19
20 The Tempest Study Guide
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FOCUS ACTIVITY
Some people say that accomplishments and acquisitions mean more to them when they have to work hard
to achieve them. Do you agree or disagree?
Quickwrite
Describe on paper an occasion when you had to work hard to achieve something. How did it make you
feel? Would the achievement have been as meaningful if you had accomplished it without hard work?
Setting a Purpose
Read to see how different characters must struggle to achieve something of value.
BACKGROUND
The Three Unities
The Tempest is unique among Shakespeare’s plays because in it he observes the three unities of drama.
These unities, or rules, which were often observed during Shakespeare’s time, are based on an interpretation
of the theories of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. According to these rules, (1) dramas should occur
in a single place; (2) the events of the play should be limited to the actual length of time it takes to act
them, or to a single day; and (3) no action should be shown that does not relate directly to the main idea
of the drama. The point of the three unities was to increase the realism of the play. Why Shakespeare
observed the three unities in The Tempest is not known. In most of his other plays, events occur on several
days and characters visit numerous settings. Some scholars have suggested that, because The Tempest contains
so much fantasy, Shakespeare may have wanted to observe the unities to help audiences suspend
their disbelief. Others have pointed to criticism that Shakespeare received for ignoring the unities; they
say he may have wanted to prove once and for all that he could follow rules if he felt like it.
Did You Know?
People of Shakespeare’s time believed that God created an orderly universe and that people should seek to
preserve God’s order. Anything that violated this order was “unnatural” and led to evil consequences.
Notice how often in the first two acts of The Tempest that the “natural order” of things is disrupted.
Nature is in disorder during the storm, and human society is in disorder because a rightful ruler has been
overthrown. In the third act, Shakespeare presents other types of disorder. In Scene 2, Stephano and
Trinculo, although they are human, fall to the level of the beast Caliban, while Caliban himself expresses
some lovely and elevated sentiments in poetry. The entire scene is a parody of the correct social order, and
to emphasize this point Shakespeare includes a series of puns on the word “nature.”
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
brine [br¯n] n. salt water
jocund [jok
ənd] adj. merry
odious [o¯
de¯ əs] adj. hateful
peerless [pe¯ r
lis] adj. without equal
sinews [sin
u¯ z] n. tendons
surfeited [sur
fit əd] adj. full, satisfied
vigilance [vij
ə ləns] n. watchfulness
Before You Read
The Tempest Act 3
Name Date Class
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Act 3 of The Tempest contains numerous images of nature and natural elements such as the sea, winds,
sounds, and other natural processes. As you read, use this cluster diagram to record words and phrases that
create this imagery. Include the scene and line numbers, as shown in the example.
Active Reading
The Tempest Act 3
The Tempest Study Guide 21
Nature
When this burns / ¢Twill
weep for having wearied
you (1, 18-19)
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
What went through your mind at the end of the Act 3?
In your journal, describe your reactions to the banquet scene and to Ariel’s stern speech.
Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret
1. What is Prospero’s goal in letting Miranda and Ferdinand get to know each other? What
will Prospero gain by the arrangement?
2. What plan does Caliban suggest for killing Prospero? What earlier scene does this echo?
3. What terrible realization does Alonso have at the end of Act 3 about his conduct toward
Prospero and what he believes to be Ferdinand’s fate? What does he decide to do? How
is nature involved in his realization?
Responding
The Tempest Act 3
Name Date Class
22 The Tempest Study Guide
Responding
The Tempest Act 3
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyzing Literature (continued)
Evaluate and Connect
4. Caliban’s speech that begins “Be not afeared . . . “ (Scene 2, lines 130–138) is one of the
best-known in the play. Paraphrase the speech. Then evaluate it for what it reveals about
Caliban as a character in the play and as poetry.
5. In the Focus Activity on page 20, you wrote about how hard work makes an accomplishment
or acquisition more meaningful. Why does Ferdinand continue to do a task he
feels is beneath his dignity as a prince? Do you feel that certain kinds of work have more
value than others? Explain your answer.
Literature and Writing
Contrast Characters
In Act 3, what motivates Miranda to vow that she will serve Ferdinand? What motivates
Caliban to promise that he will serve Stephano? In a few paragraphs, contrast Miranda’s and
Caliban’s motivations, and explain how the contrast helps develop the theme of divine order.
Extending Your Response
Literature Groups
Ariel’s speech to the “three men of sin” during the banquet in Scene 3 is an important one.
Examine this passage, paying attention to imagery of nature and natural disorder, and to
what Alonso and Gonzalo say. What is the religious message of the passage, and how does it
relate to the themes of guilt, repentance, and forgiveness? Discuss these questions in your
group, then explain your conclusions to others.
Learning for Life
In The Tempest, Miranda and Ferdinand, the younger generation, play a role in healing the
conflicts between members of the older generation, for example, Prospero and Alonso. In
your group, discuss if and how this happens in real life. What contributions can members of
your generation make to healing conflicts between older generations, both in your personal
sphere and throughout the world?
Name Date Class
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The Tempest Study Guide 23
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FOCUS ACTIVITY
Self-discipline and self-control are important qualities that are learned over time. How do you convince
yourself to exercise self-control when you are tempted to do something you shouldn’t?
List Ideas
Think of a time in your life when exercising self-control really paid off. Do not disclose the specifics, but
use this situation as a basis for creating a list of general steps to follow that would help a person assess a
situation, examine potential consequences, and exercise self-control.
Setting a Purpose
Read to find out what Prospero has to say about the conflict between a person’s appetites and self-control.
BACKGROUND
The Masque: Special Effects, Seventeenth-Century Style
Act 4 of The Tempest includes a masque, a dramatic entertainment popular in England during the sixteenth
century. The masque usually featured splendid sets, gorgeous costumes, spectacular stage effects, dancers and
musicians, and complicated, highly poetic speeches spoken by actors wearing fanciful masks. Plots were
simple and were often based on stories from Greek and Roman mythology. The characters were usually
either gods and goddesses or symbolic representations of qualities such as virtues and vices. Masques were
often presented in honor of special occasions like weddings or coronations.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
abstemious [ab ste¯
me¯ əs] adj. moderate, sparing
barren [bar
ən] adj. infertile
compensation [kom´ pən sa¯
shən] n. payment; something
given in return for a debt
deity [de¯
ə te¯ ] n. god
disdain [dis da¯n
] n. scorn
mute [mu¯ t] adj. unable or unwilling to speak
oracle [o r ə kəl] n. fortune-teller
rabble [rab
əl] n. unruly crowd
vexed [vekst] adj. troubled
Before You Read
The Tempest Act 4
Name Date Class
24 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The wedding masque in Act 4 provides a break from the main action of the play. However, its characters
reflect themes that are prominent in The Tempest and are associated with ideas important to the main
action. Use the chart on this page to keep track of the ideas and symbolic values associated with the main
characters in the masque.
Active Reading
The Tempest Act 4
Name Date Class
The Tempest Study Guide 25
Iris
messenger of
the gods
Juno Venus and Cupid
Ceres
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
How did you feel when Prospero says, at the end of Act 4, “At this hour / Lies at my mercy
all mine enemies”?
Do you think that Prospero will take revenge on the men who wronged him? Why or why not?
Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret
1. Summarize Prospero’s warning to Ferdinand and Miranda at the beginning of Act 4.
What characters have been guilty of the weakness Prospero warns against?
2. What is the occasion for the masque? What images dominate the speeches? Why is this
imagery appropriate to the occasion?
3. What does Caliban begin to realize about Stephano at the end of Act 4? What did
Caliban think of Stephano earlier in the play?
Responding
The Tempest Act 4
Name Date Class
26 The Tempest Study Guide
Responding
The Tempest Act 4
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyzing Literature (continued)
Evaluate and Connect
4. Some readers believe that the long masque that dominates this act detracts from the
action of the play and seems unrelated to the plot. Do you agree? Support your answer
with evidence from the text.
5. The beginning of this act, along with parts of the masque, concerns two of the play’s key
themes, the importance of self-control and the conflict between reason and passion.
Review your answer to the Focus Activity. In what ways has Prospero himself not
always shown the complete self-control he praises? How might one achieve a balance
between self-control and creative passion?
Literature and Writing
Ananlyze Character
Prospero’s speech beginning “Our revels now are ended” indicates his psychological state.
What is the magician’s mood at this point in the play? Examine the text to analyze Prospero’s
thoughts and feelings about himself, his art, and his accomplishments. Write at least two paragraphs
to analyze Prospero’s psychological state. Use specific examples to support your analysis.
Extending Your Response
Literature Groups
Compare your responses to the Active Reading activity on page 25 with those of others in
your group. As a group, come to a consensus about the values associated with each of the
major figures in the masque and their relation to the themes of The Tempest as a whole.
Then present your consensus to others in your class.
Internet Connection
Prospero calls Caliban “a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick.” He is referring
to the debate over the relative influences of education and society (nurture) and the
traits, personality, and abilities we are born with (nature). Modern-day terms for these two
important influences are environment (nurture) and heredity (nature). Use the Internet to
research modern theories about the nature-nurture dichotomy. Which has a greater role in
determining who we are: heredity or the environment? Discuss these questions in your group.
Present your findings to your class.
Name Date Class
Save your work for your portfolio.
The Tempest Study Guide 27
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
FOCUS ACTIVITY
“To err is human, to forgive divine.” You have probably heard this saying before, which is actually a line
from Alexander Pope’s long poem Essay on Criticism. What does this saying mean to you?
Think-Pair-Share
With a partner, discuss different kinds of experiences and situations in which forgiveness is a virtue.
Describe the effects of forgiveness on both the one who forgives and the one forgiven.
Setting a Purpose
Read to find out about the effects of forgiveness on both the major characters in The Tempest.
BACKGROUND
Shakespeare’s Farewell
One interpretation of The Tempest identifies Prospero with William Shakespeare himself. Like Prospero,
Shakespeare was an imaginative artist, a kind of magician who created characters and dramas to entertain
and enlighten. Believers in an autobiographical interpretation of The Tempest identify Ariel with
Shakespeare’s soaring genius, Caliban with his earthly appetites, and the enslavement of Caliban with
Shakespeare’s own self-control and discipline. In this interpretation, Prospero’s long speech that begins
“Ye elves of hills” (Scene 1, lines 33–57) is known as Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage. In the speech,
Prospero describes the great feats of magic he has performed. Then he renounces his magical powers, vowing
to break his staff and throw his book of charms into the sea. While it is probably true that
Shakespeare’s retirement from the theater left him with some of the same divided and melancholy feelings
that Prospero expresses, Prospero’s feelings are completely understandable on their own in the context of
the play.
Is It Over?
After The Tempest ends, you’ll find that the play is not quite over. An epilogue is delivered by one of the
actors. Such epilogues occur in other plays by Shakespeare, including As You Like It, All’s Well That Ends
Well, and Henry IV, part 2. Some scholars believe that the epilogue to The Tempest is inferior writing and
was added by another writer.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW
auspicious [o s pish
əs] adj. favorable
chastise [chas t¯z
] v. to punish
discourse [dis
ko rs´] n. conversation; discussion
nuptial [nup
shəl] n. marriage
promontory [prom
ən to r´e¯ ] n. mountain top
rapier [ra¯
pe¯ ər] n. small dagger
score [sko r] n. twenty
Before You Read
The Tempest Act 5
Name Date Class
28 The Tempest Study Guide
The Tempest Study Guide 29
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
In Act 5, several of the plot complications in the play are brought to resolution. Characters gain new
knowledge, earlier mysteries are explained, and events foreshadowed (hinted at) in the opening scenes
come to pass. As you read, use the chart below to note how the plot developments listed are resolved.
Name Date Class
Active Reading
The Tempest Act 5
1. Pinr ohsisp eproow’se re.nemies are completely He decides to forgive them.
2. Prospero has accomplished everything
with his art that he wants.
3. Prospero tells Antonio and Sebastian that
he knows they tried to kill Alonso.
4. Alonso grieves because he believes
Ferdinand was drowned.
5. Alonso wonders if the girl with Ferdinand
is a goddess.
6. The shipwrecked courtiers believe that
the ship sank with all its sailors.
7. The courtiers wonder what happened to
Stephano and Trinculo.
8. Caliban has taken Stephano for his lord
and master.
9. Ariel has longed for freedom.
Developments Resolution
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
What do you think of the ending of the play and the epilogue?
If you had written the play, would you have ended it differently? Explain your answer.
Analyzing Literature
Recall and Interpret
1. How are Ferdinand and Miranda revealed to the others? How does the language and
imagery used reflect the theme of rebirth and regeneration?
2. What ironic comment does Prospero make when Miranda marvels at the “brave new
world” (Scene 1, line 186)? What do you think he means by this comment?
3. What significant gesture does Antonio not make at the end of the play? What might
Shakespeare be saying about the power of art by this omission?
Responding
The Tempest Act 5
Name Date Class
30 The Tempest Study Guide
Responding
The Tempest Act 5
The Tempest Study Guide 31
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyzing Literature (continued)
Evaluate and Connect
4. In many ways Prospero is similar to a god. In other ways, he is not. List characteristics
that make him seem both like and unlike a god. Then decide what Shakespeare thought
about Prospero’s godlike status. Use the evidence you list to support your position.
5. Prospero forgives all of the men who have wronged him, even those who have not
repented. Was he right or wrong to forgive all of them? In the Focus Activity, you
shared experiences about forgiveness. Apply your answer to real life. Under what circumstances
should people convicted of crimes be paroled or pardoned?
Literature and Writing
Turning Point
Reread the dialogue between Prospero and Ariel at the beginning of Act 5 (lines 20–32). At
this point, Ariel describes how, if he were human, his affections would become tender at the
sight of Gonzalo weeping for Alonso. In what way might this be considered the turning
point of the play? What does Prospero realize and then decide to do? On a separate sheet of
paper analyze these lines and summarize Prospero’s chain of reasoning. Then explain how
events earlier in the play have led up to this moment.
Extending Your Response
Literature Groups
Unless characters in a play speak an “aside,” the audience may not understand what the characters
are secretly thinking. In your group, choose one of the characters who appear in Act 5.
For the character you choose, write an aside that reveals what the character is secretly thinking.
Share your aside with the rest of the class and explain why you think it is appropriate to
the character.
Learning for Life
Prospero uses his art in the play for a number of purposes: to restore the moral order; to bring
about changes in other people; to help sinners recognize their wickedness and repent their evil
deeds; and to instruct others about virtue. However, all of these positive changes take place on
the enchanted island, not in Milan and Naples. Do you believe these kinds of changes are also
possible in the real world? With a partner, find examples of how Prospero’s art achieves positive
results. Then discuss what real-life powers have this ability to change people, their behavior,
and society. Support your opinion with evidence from history and current events.
Name Date Class
Save your work for your portfolio.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Personal Response
Would you recommend this play to friends? Why or why not?
Writing About the Play
Do you feel that the play has a happy ending? Why or why not? Support your answer with
evidence from the text. You may want to focus on such elements as the meaning of Prospero’s
decision to return to Milan and his key speeches in the last act, the attitude of Antonio, the
future of Ferdinand and Miranda, and the freedom granted to Ariel and Caliban.
Responding
The Tempest
Name Date Class
32 The Tempest Study Guide
Save your work for your portfolio.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Before You Read
Focus Question
Have you ever acted in a play? If so, how did you come to understand the character you played? How
might you apply this skill when reading literature?
Background
In this interview with freelance writer Patrick Pacheco, actor Patrick Stewart and director George Wolfe
discuss their 1995 stage production of The Tempest. In the interview, both men discuss what their first
experiences with Shakespeare were and how together they developed the character of Prospero.
Responding to the Reading
1. Patrick Stewart notes that his brother read some of Shakespeare’s plays to him as bedtime stories. Do you
think most children who are eight- or nine-years-old would enjoy Shakespeare’s stories? Why or why not?
2. Do you agree with Wolfe that Prospero was a “control freak”? Support your answer with examples
from the play.
3. Making Connections Does Stewart’s choice to say the phrase “My Brother!” in an explosive manner
change your perspective about the play? In what way? Do you agree with his choice? Why or why not?
Learning for Life
People still enjoy Shakespeare’s plays four hundred years after they were written. Make a list of five books,
plays, or movies that you think people will still be interested in reading or seeing two hundred years from
now, and explain your choices. Compare your choices with those of the other students.
Name Date Class
Two Control Freaks Take
on Shakespeare Patrick Pacheco
The Tempest Study Guide 33
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Before You Read
Focus Question
If you were presenting a play with Caliban as a major character, how would you make him look?
Background
Staging sets the mood for a play and tells the audience members how they should interpret what they
hear. Equally important is how certain roles are played out on the stage. Editor Sylvan Barnet describes
various productions of The Tempest and a number of ways Caliban has been played over the centuries. In
Caliban’s Hour, fantasy author Tad Williams offers a different view of Caliban. Both readings reflect the
times in which they were produced.
Responding to the Reading
1. Which kind of production would you prefer to see, “plain” or “fancy”? Why?
2. Which kind of production would you prefer to stage, “plain” or “fancy”? Why?
3. Do you think it is important to perform a play exactly as the author wrote it? Explain.
4. Making Connections Which interpretation of Caliban’s part do you like best? If you were to stage the
play, how would you present Caliban?
Perform a Scene
Working in small groups, choose a scene to stage from The Tempest. Present the set as a model, a video, a
sketch or series of sketches, a storyboard, or a live performance. Present your set to the class.
Name Date Class
The Tempest on the Stage Sylvan Barnet
from Caliban’s Hour Tad Williams
34 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Before You Read
Focus Question
What story currently in the news would make a good movie?
Background
Scholars believed that Shakespeare may have based The Tempest on a shipwreck that occurred in 1609. He
read two eyewitness accounts of the incident, one an unpublished letter written by William Strachey and
the other a work by Silvester Jourdain. Jourdain’s account, by far the shorter of the two, is reproduced here.
As you read it, imagine how Shakespeare might have scrutinized it for background information for his play.
Responding To The Reading
1. In Jourdain’s account, what facts or descriptions struck you as being especially vivid or interesting?
Include at least three.
2. What did the travelers expect Bermuda to be like? What did they think of the island after they
arrived there?
3. Which was easier for you to read, The Tempest or A Discovery of the Bermudas? Why?
4. Making Connections What similarities do you see between Jourdain’s description of the storm and
Shakespeare’s depiction of it?
Yesterday’s News
Working in small groups, rewrite Jourdain’s story as a newspaper or TV news story. Include drawings,
maps, interviews with survivors, or other features to dramatize your report. Present your work to the class.
Name Date Class
A Discovery of the
Bermudas, Otherwise Called
the Isle of Devils
Silvester Jourdain
The Tempest Study Guide 35
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Before You Read
Focus Question
How would you react if someone refused to give you credit for something you had done well? Why?
Background
Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays? At first the question seems akin to asking who is buried in President
Grant’s tomb. The answer seems so obvious that the question seems ridiculous. But the authorship of
Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets has been the subject of a long and enduring dispute. In this reading,
famed American author Mark Twain explains his doubts about whether Shakespeare could have written
the plays attributed to him.
Responding to the Reading
1. What reason does Mark Twain give for changing his opinion about the authorship of Shakespeare’s
plays?
2. Briefly sum up Twain’s arguments. Do you think the arguments are convincing?
3. In your opinion, is it important to know who wrote the plays? Explain.
4. Making Connections Describe a particular scene or character in The Tempest that you think showcases
Shakespeare’s talents as a writer. Explain your choice.
Internet Connection
What do today’s scholars think about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays? Use the Internet to research
the controversy. Form an opinion and defend it in a brief oral report to your class.
Name Date Class
from Is Shakespeare Dead?
Mark Twain
36 The Tempest Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Before You Read
Focus Question
Have you ever had a close call in which you narrowly escaped physical danger? How did you react? How
does it feel to recall that incident now?
Background
Imagine the fear and danger involved in a real shipwreck. Editor Clarissa M. Silitch has compiled a series of
true stories, including “Those Huddled Masses,” about actual shipwrecks that have occurred over the years.
Responding to the Reading
1. What caused the Danmark to founder?
2. How were the passengers aboard the Danmark rescued?
3. Making Connections Based on their actions during the shipwreck in The Tempest, how do you think
Sebastian and Antonio might have handled themselves on the Danmark when it was going down?
Learning for Life
Pick two people involved in the shipwreck that you would like to interview. Make up a list of ten
questions that you would like to ask.
Name Date Class
“Those Huddled Masses”
Tim Clark
The Tempest Study Guide 37
Archive for January, 2008
THE TEMPEST
January 17, 2008GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECKS
January 17, 2008Great Lakes, Great Stories:
Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
October 6 – December 2, 2007
TEACHER RESOURCES
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
2
Introduction
Welcome to Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage at the Macomb Cultural Center. Students will discover both the universal and the unique about these fantastic and beautiful bodies of water through a series of exhibits employing video, audio, photos, posters and artifacts about the Lakes. Great Lakes, Great Stories covers Michigan history and life on the lakes throughout the years, as well as the evolution of the shipping industry and the changing role of lighthouses on the lakes; it also shows how people use the lakes today, and what we can all do to preserve our Great Lakes.
Diverse topics include: geology, the shipping industry, history of Native Americans in the area and their relationship with Europeans, lighthouses on the Lakes, famous shipwrecks, conservation and preservation of the Great Lakes.
This packet of information is designed to assist teachers in making the most of their students’ visit to the Macomb Cultural Center. Contained in the packet are:
1) An outline of the exhibit
2) Great Lakes facts, information and related activities
3) Lesson plans related to The Great Lakes
4) Websites for Great Lakes research
5) A resource list with addresses and information
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
3
Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
October 6-December 2, 2007
Table of Contents
Page
Part I: Exhibit Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part II: Great Lakes Facts and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Makes the Great Lakes Great? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Geology and Glacial Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Great Lakes Superhighway: The Shipping Industry on the Great Lakes. . . . . . . . . 12
Important Events in the History of Watercraft on the Lakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
The Mackinac Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lighthouses: Caution Lights of the Superhighway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Lifesaving and Rescue Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Pilothouse: The Ship’s Navigation Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Part III: Lesson Plans for the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Michigan History on a String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
When Glaciers Covered Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Where did Michigan’s First People Live? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Canoe Routes of Native Americans in Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Make a Lighthouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Great Lakes Shipping: The Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Water Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Part IV: Websites for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Part V: More Great Lakes Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
4
Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
October 6-December 2, 2007
PART I: EXHIBIT OUTLINE
Welcome to Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
• Dive into the history, legacy and romance of the Great Lakes.
• Discover how these remarkable lakes at the heart of North America shaped our state…and our southeast Michigan community.
• Delve into their very beginnings, from the prehistoric formation by glaciers to today’s challenges and successes in preserving this precious environmental and cultural resources.
Our displays and exhibits highlight:
~ Carving Out North America’s Interior Coast
~ Great Lakes as the Maritime Superhighway
~ Lighthouses: Caution Lights of the Superhighway
~ Shipwrecks: The Challenge of the Lakes’ Great Gales
~ Great Lakes Ecology and Preservation
PART II: GREAT LAKES FACTS AND INFORMATION
What Makes the Great Lakes Great?
The Great Lakes — Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario — and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on earth. If you stood on the moon, you could see the lakes and recognize the familiar shape. Covering more than 94,000 square miles, these freshwater seas hold an estimated 6 quadrillion gallons of water, about one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water supply. This system greatly affects our way of life, as well as all aspects of the natural environment, from weather and climate, to wildlife and habitat. Yet for all their size and power, the Great Lakes are fragile. In the past, this fragile nature wasn’t recognized, and the lakes were mistreated for economic gain, placing the ecosystem under tremendous stress from our activities. Today, we understand that our health and our children’s inheritance depend on our collective efforts to wisely manage our complex ecosystem.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
5
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is the third largest of the lakes by volume, with 850 cubic miles of water. Lake Huron is connected to Lake Michigan, joined together by the wide Straits of Mackinac. The Huron lakeshore extends 3,827 miles, and is characterized by shallow, sandy beaches and the rocky shores of Georgian Bay. The lake measures 206 miles across and 183 miles north to south, with an average depth of 195 feet (approximately 750 feet, maximum). Shoreline map of Lake Huron courtesy of NOAA
Did you know…
Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is recorded as the largest freshwater island in the world covering 1,068 square miles? Part of the Canadian province of Ontario, Manitoulin is located in the northern half of Lake Huron. It separates Georgian Bay and the lower portion of Lake Huron.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
6
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is similar to Lake Erie in length and breadth (193 miles by 53 miles). Yet with its greater average depth (approximately 283 feet), Lake Ontario holds almost four times the volume (395 cubic miles). Shoreline map of Lake Ontario courtesy of NOAA.
Did you know…
The Welland Canal connects Lakes Ontario and Erie? The canal was necessary because the Niagara River, the natural connection between the lakes, has impassable falls and rapids (Niagara Falls, to name one). Therefore, the canal forms an important link for the shipping industry in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
7
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan, the second largest Great Lake by volume with just under 1,180 cubic miles of water. Approximately 118 miles wide and 307 miles long, Lake Michigan has more than 1,600 miles of shoreline. Averaging 279 feet in depth, the lake reaches 925 feet at its deepest point. Shoreline map of Lake Michigan courtesy of NOAA.
Did you know…
Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake contained completely within the United States? All other Great Lakes share a border with Canada.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
8
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the smallest of the Great Lakes in volume (119 cubic miles) and is exposed to the greatest effects from urbanization and agriculture. Measuring 241 miles across and 57 miles from north to south, the lake’s surface is just under 10,000 square miles, with 871 miles of shoreline. The average depth of Lake Erie is only about 62 feet (210 feet, maximum) making it the warmest of the Great Lakes. Shoreline map of Lake Erie courtesy of NOAA.
Did you know…
Up to 90 percent of Lake Erie freezes during the winter? This is the most of any of the Great Lakes, however, wind and water movement over bodies of water as large and deep as the Great Lakes make it unlikely the lakes have ever frozen over completely for any significant length of time.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
9
Lake Superior
Not only is Lake Superior the largest of the Great Lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world. It could fill all the other Great Lakes plus three additional Lake Eries. With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet, maximum) of the Great Lakes. The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long. Shoreline map of Lake Superior courtesy of NOAA.
Did you know…
Lake Superior was given the name Kitchi-gummi (or Gitchee Gumee) by the Chippewa, also known as Ojibwe Indians that made their home on the lands surrounding the lake? The term means Great-water or Great-lake.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Great Lakes Geology
14,000 Years Ago
* The Laurentide glacier began retreating and melting resulting in the formation of the Great Lakes
* When the glaciers melted, the “meltwater” filled huge holes left by the glaciers
9,000 Years Ago
* The first inhabitants of the Great Lakes basin arrived crossing the land bridge from Asia or South America
7,000 Years Ago
* Descendants of the first settlers were using copper from the south shore of Lake Superior and establishing hunting and fishing communities
4,000 Years Ago
* Lake levels dropped to the current levels they are today
* Sleeping Bear Dunes formed
Carving Out North America’s Interior Coast
About a billion years ago, a fracture in the earth running from what is now Oklahoma to Lake Superior generated volcanic activity that almost split North America. Over a period of 20 million years, lava intermittently flowed from the fracture. Molten magma below the highlands of what is now Lake Superior spewed out to its sides, causing the highlands to sink and form a mammoth rock basin that would one day hold Lake Superior. The region went from fire to ice with the arrival of the glaciers, which advanced and retreated several times over the last 5 million years.
Sources: Introducing Michigan’s Past: An Overview for Teachers, Michigan History Magazine
www.michigan.gov/hal
www.great-lakes.net
www.abouthegreatlakes.com
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
11
Great Lakes Super Highway: the Shipping Industry of the Great Lakes
Shipping on the Great Lakes began in 1679 when the first ship to sail the upper lakes, the Griffon, was launched. By the mid-19th century, the bulk shipping industry had begun on the Great Lakes with the transport of iron ore, wheat and coal. The late 19th century was the Golden Age of Great Lakes shipping when the lines of ships moving up and down the lakes were similar to the bumper-to-bumper traffic of today’s urban roadways. The “Era of Elegance” came alive in the first half of the 20th century, as passengers enjoyed traveling the Great Lakes aboard grand steamships. Since then, the number of ships on the Great Lakes has declined, but U.S. and Canadian ships as well as dozens of international vessels still regularly travel through the lakes carrying primarily iron ore, coal and limestone.
A “thousand-footer” freighter can carry the equivalent cargo of 700 train cars.
Important Events in the History of Watercraft on the Lakes
1600 – The water craft of people indigenous to the Great Lakes region included bark and dugout canoes, skin boats, and simple rafts. Under the French and English, birch bark canoes became the workhorse of the fur trade.
1679 – Robert Sieur de La Salle built the 45-ton Griffon on the Niagara River. It was the first large sailing vessel on the upper Great Lakes. After being laden with furs in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the ship disappeared with all hands on the return trip to Niagara.
1740 – The French had four ships on Lake Ontario.
1770 – 16 vessels sailed the Great Lakes on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
1797 – The first American vessel built on Lake Erie was constructed and named the Washington.
1816 – Steam vessels were introduced to the lakes.
1818 – The Walk-in-the-Water was the first steamer on Lake Erie, and established a regular route to Detroit.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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1825 – The Erie Canal opened, linking the Hudson River and Lake Erie, opening a critical link to the west. As a result commerce in the Great Lakes region grew as well as burgeoning passenger traffic. Large numbers of eastern settlers moved to the Great Lakes region, as well as foreign immigrants coming to this country by way of Canada or the American East Coast.
1841 – The first propeller steamship, the 138-ton Vandalia, operated on the Great Lakes, ushering in a new era in lake navigation.
1844 – The era of the “Palace Steamers” emerged with 25 of these 300 ft. beautifully appointed, lavish vessels operating on the lakes. Most of them ran from Buffalo to Detroit or Chicago and operated in tandem with the emerging railroad system.
1855 – The steamer Illinois became the first boat to pass through the Soo Locks, a canal that bypassed the rapids of the St. Mary’s River connecting travel between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes.
1856 – The Soo Locks released a flood of copper and iron ore from the western UP that was an important factor in winning the Civil War and fueled the American Industrial Revolution in the days after the war. The first cargo of iron ore ever shipped from the Lake Superior region was transported by the steamer Ontonagon from the Cleveland Iron Mining Company. There were 107 steamers, 135 propellers, 56 barques, 108 brigs, 850 schooners for a total of 1,256 ships on the lakes.
1857 – The Panic of 1857 ruined passenger business on the lakes, and the entire fleet of Palace Steamers withdrew from service. Railroads crossed the country and cut into the profitable freight businesses on the lakes.
1865 – After the Panic of 1857, many of the idle passenger steamships were converted into lumber barges, and a new class of small, specialized screw-steamer tugboats evolved including the 115-foot Trader built at Marine City on the St. Clair River. These tugs assisted the schooners that needed towing up and down rivers, and into harbors. Nearly 600 steambarges were built between 1870 and 1900.
1890 – Sailing craft were entirely displaced by steamers, except in the lumber trade.
1902 – The most important milestone for the Great Lakes bulk carriers was the development of the self-unloading equipment. It was first installed on the Hennepin and integrated into the Wyandotte in 1908.
1930 – Three quarters of the passenger lines were out of business, struggling under reduced schedules, or reduced to tourist-only or railroad-only traffic.
1968 – Poe Lock (part of the Soo Locks) was re-built after the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened. It can handle ships carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the 1000 foot freighters used on the upper lakes.
1981 – Paul R. Tregurtha is launched as the longest ship on the lakes at 1,013 feet.
2007 – Where once there were thousands of ships carrying passengers and cargoes, there are now only about 80 active bulk carriers, and several dozen local ferries on the Great Lakes today.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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The Mackinac Bridge
Hailed as one of the most outstanding engineering achievements of the century, the Mackinac Bridge celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with much to celebrate. Designed by Dr. David B. Steinman, the “Mighty Mac” is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world, and the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Rising 552 feet (55 stories!) above the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet, this steel superstructure officially opened to traffic on November 1, 1957.
Before the Mackinac Bridge was constructed, travelers between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas had to cross the Straits via ferry, a ride which on busy summer weekends or the start of hunting season in the fall, would have carloads of weary travelers waiting in line for as long as 24 hours to catch a ferry! The 100 millionth crossing of the bridge took place on June 25, 1998.
Sources: www.great-lakes.net; www.mackinacbridge.org
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Lighthouses: Caution Lights of the Superhighway
In 1825 the first lighthouse was constructed in what would become the state of Michigan. Built on Lake Huron, the Fort Gratiot Light was named for a nearby military outpost. Over the next 170 years the nature of Great Lakes navigation, the kinds of ships on the lakes, and the cargoes being hauled over water would change, however, the lights themselves remain beacons in the night that aid sailors throughout the Great Lakes.
Lighthouse Design and Construction
Between 1852 and 1860 twenty-six new lights were erected on the Great Lakes. The Civil War and its aftermath greatly slowed construction of new lights during the 1860s. By the beginning of the twentieth century the Lighthouse Board oversaw 334 major lights, 67 fog signals, and 563 buoys on the Great Lakes. Throughout the early years of the twentieth century the Lighthouse Board and the new Lighthouse Service continued to build new lights. By 1925 virtually all of the Great Lakes lighthouses that exist today had been constructed.
The Lights
In the first half of the nineteenth century, Michigan’s lighthouses generally used an Argand lamp that burned whale oil. A far superior apparatus was introduced by French physicist Augustin Fresnel in 1822. Looking a bit like a beehive, the Fresnel lens was a bright, single beam of light that was far superior to anything else available in its day. A variety of different lights replaced the Fresnel lens and over time electricity became the new standard for lighthouses and other illuminated navigational aids.
The Keepers
Beginning with the lighting of the Fort Gratiot Light in 1825, lighthouse keepers kept the lights lit each night. Although a keeper’s work was sometimes glamorized in the press, the daily tasks of a keeper were very routine in an often isolated, uncomfortable setting. A typical day at a lighthouse was filled with cleaning, fixing, and recording, as well standing watch and making sure the light burned brightly. Automation eventually replaced keepers and in 1983 Michigan’s last keeper-tended light was automated. Today all the lights on the lakes are maintained through occasional visits by Coast Guard maintenance crews and many groups are committed to the effort of maintaining and preserving the Beacons in the Night around the Great Lakes.
Lighthouse Preservation
Beacons are now subjected to deterioration by the elements and vandalism. Many have been saved and are private homes, museums, or part of a county, state or national park site for recreational use. Numerous lights also still play an important role as private aides to navigation for small craft. Here are some things you can do to make a difference.
Educate Yourself. Read about lighthouse history and preservation methods. Learn about laws and regulations governing the lighthouse disposal process and lighthouse ownership. Keep track of information you find in the newspaper, in magazines, or at workshops and conferences. Contact the Michigan Lighthouse Project to obtain information about the lighthouse transfer process, funding opportunities and more.
Visit Lighthouses. The best way to learn about Michigan’s lighthouses is to actually see them. While you are there, offer a donation for lighthouse upkeep or for the small museums and historical societies housed in several of these landmarks.
Get Involved. Join a local nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the lighthouse of your choice. Ask how you can participate by donating your time, goods or money to the group. In addition, join national and statewide preservation advocacy groups such as the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, or the the National Trust for Historic Preservation to keep abreast of current issues related to lighthouse preservation. Attend their meetings and conferences and read their newsletters and other mailings. They can be reached at the following addresses:
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association 206 Lake Street P. O. Box 219 Mackinaw City, MI 49701 (231) 436-5580 (231) 436-5466 (fax)
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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E-mail: gllka@aol.com
Michigan Historic Preservation Network 107 E. Grand River Avenue Lansing, MI 48906
(517) 371-8080 (517) 371-9090 (fax)
E-mail: info@mhpn.org
National Trust for Historic Preservation 1785 Massachusetts Avenue Washington, D.C. 20036
Buy a Lighthouse License Plate. With its striking red-and-white stripes, the White Shoal Lighthouse is set against the blue waters of Lake Michigan to symbolize the need to preserve Michigan’s lighthouses. The legend on the plate reads “SAVE OUR LIGHTS.” A portion of the cost of this Michigan fund-raising license plate introduced in 2001 supports lighthouse preservation.
Source: Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Life Saving and Rescue Stations
Sailing and navigation on the Great Lakes has proven to be hazardous. The U. S. Life Saving Service was established in 1849 “for the better preservation of life and property from shipwrecks,” under the supervision of the Revenue Marine Corps. Their duties included the rescue of crew, passengers, and cargo ships in disasters as well as assisting in salvage operations. When the U. S. Coast Guard was created in 1915, it took over the responsibilities of the U.S. Life Saving Service.
Did you know…
* in 1871 Sumner Kimball was appointed as the Chief of the Revenue Marine Division of the Department of the Treasury and recommended the establishment of lifesaving stations on the Great Lakes?
* the organization of the Life-Saving Service was authorized by Congress in 1874 into 12 districts, including 3 on the Great Lakes?
* in 1878 these lifesaving stations became a separate agency of the Department of the Treasury known as the United States Life-Saving Service?
* the United States Life-Saving Service enabled the shipping industry to rapidly grow on the Great Lakes?
* when the United States Life-Saving Service ended in 1915, 63 Great Lakes stations were in operation?
* during the years of its operation, the Great Lakes Life-Saving Service contended with 9,763 disasters, saving 55,639 people and $110,038,860 in property?
* over the course of the United States Life-Saving Service, 20 brave employees gave their lives while performing their duties?
* the organization that Mr. Kimball formed, provided the basis for the new search and rescue organization of the U.S. Coast Guard?
Sources: Bowling Green State University and the Library of Congress
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes
In the decades since LaSalle’s Griffon was lost on Lake Huron, literally hundreds of vessels large and small have met disastrous ends on the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways. Each represents more than a shipwreck – each is the story of a valiant fight for survival against the forces of wind, waves, fog, fire, snow and ice. The Lakes themselves tell the story.
Lake Erie
The worst disasters on Lake Erie:
• the burning of the passenger steamer, Erie, on August 9, 1841, with the loss of about 150 lives
• the burning of the passenger steamer, G. P. Griffith, on June 17, 1850, with about 250 lives lost
• the sinking of the passenger steamer, Atlantic, after a collision with the steamer Ogdensburg, on August 20 1852, with about 175 lives lost.
The first steam vessel on the upper Great Lakes was a ship named Walk-in-the-Water built in 1818. She ran for only three years before a severe Lake Erie storm destroyed her in 1821.
Lake Huron
The story of LaSalle’s ship Griffon, the first ship on the upper Great Lakes, has been told often in the last three centuries. Constructed in 1679, it ventured through the Detroit River, up through Lake Huron and into Green Bay area of Lake Michigan to pick up a load of furs before it sailed into mystery and history on the return journey.
The worst marine disasters on Lake Huron include:
• the loss of the steamer, Pewabic, in a collision with her sister ship, the Meteor, off Alpena on August 9, 1865; about 100 lives lost
• the sinking of the steamship, Asia, in Georgian Bay waters, September 14, 1882 with the loss of 123 people.
The worst Great Lakes storm in recorded history did its most damage on Lake Huron on November 8 – 11, 1913. Eight steel freighters and their entire crews were lost; three have never been located.
Lake Michigan
There are approximately 950 shipwrecks in Lake Michigan. The first shipwreck on Lake Michigan was the schooner, Hercules, wrecked in 1818 with all hands. By the time a Native American group found the human remains along the Chicago shoreline a few days later, wolves and bears had mutilated the bodies beyond recognition.
Lake Michigan has had more than its fair share of tragic ship losses including:
• the sinking of the steamer Lady Elgin after a collision with the schooner Augusta, September 8, 1860 with about 300 lives lost
• the steamer Seabird caught fire on April 9, 1868 with over 100 lost lives
• the steamer Phoenix caught fire near Sheboygan, Wisconsin on November 21, 1847 while carrying 250 Dutch settlers to the western frontier, killing 200 men, women and children
• the steamer Alpena went missing in a storm near Holland, Michigan on October 15, 1880 killing all 80 on board.
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Lake Ontario
Two-thirds or more of the shipwrecks that occurred on Lake Ontario during the schooner and early steam era, took place in areas of treacherous shoals and bars such as Psychic Shoal, Gull Bar and Poplar Bar. These areas contain the wrecks of a number of two and three-masted schooners, brigantines, barges and steamers including:
• the Manola Steel steamer, built in 1890 and sank on Dec. 3, 1918 by foundering in a storm while under tow. She lies upside-down in 45-80′ of water on the rocky floor of Lake Ontario; eleven lives were lost.
• the Florence steam tug sank on November 14, 1933 in some 80′ of water off Timber Island with no loss of life.
• the Annie Falconer 2-masted schooner, built in Kingston, Ontario in 1867, sank November 12, 1904 by foundering with a cargo of coal.
• the Olive Branch sank on the night of September 30, 1880 in 100′ of water, taking the lives of the captain and crew.
Lake Superior
There are approximately 500 shipwrecks in Lake Superior, most them as yet undiscovered. Many will never be discovered because they no longer exist, having been dashed to thousands of small pieces due to several notoriously dangerous shoal areas in remote and distant parts of Lake Superior.
The Lake Superior shipwrecks include:
• the side-wheel steamer, Superior, which was built in 1845 and was one of the last ships portaged around the rapids at Sault Ste. Marie and into Lake Superior before the Soo Locks were built in 1853-55. In October of 1865, the 184-foot-long Superior was crushed near the high cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Seashore after losing her rudder, resulting in one of the worst loss-of-life wrecks on the lake, with 35 of the 55 people on board killed.
• the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes proper is that of the steel freighter, Edmund Fitzgerald, that sank in 529 feet of water off Whitefish Point on November 10, 1975, with the loss of all 29 men on board. No body was ever recovered. (See also the Edmund Fitzgerald exhibit)
Sources: 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks, Cris Kohl, Vol. II, 1998 and http://www.pec.on.ca/other/scuba.html
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The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend of the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. At 729 feet and 13,632 gross tons she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes, for thirteen years, until 1971.
The Fitzgerald’s normal course during her productive life took her between Silver Bay, Minnesota, where she loaded taconite, to steel mills on the lower lakes in the Detroit and Toledo area. She was usually empty on her return trip to Silver Bay. On November 9, 1975 Fitzgerald was to transport a load of taconite from Superior, Wisconsin, to Zug Island, Detroit.
On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. Conflicting theories about the cause of the tragedy remain active today. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society’s (GLSHS) three expeditions to the wreck revealed that it is likely she “submarined” bow first into an enormous sea, as damage forward is indicative of a powerful, quick force to the superstructure. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly, without a single cry for help, cannot be determined. The bronze bell of the Fitzgerald was recovered by the GLSHS July 4, 1995.
Source: www.shipwreckmuseum.com
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Pilothouse: The Ship’s Navigation Center
A ship’s pilothouse is an enclosed area, usually on the bridge of a vessel, from which the vessel is controlled when under way. On many ships, especially military and cruise ships, the pilothouse is considerably larger and combined with a number of other control structures as the ship’s bridge. The bridge was often open to the elements, therefore a weatherproof pilothouse was provided to shelter the pilot, a ship’s navigation officer, while he issued commands to the wheelsman, engine room, and deck crew.
Can you find some of the items in our pilothouse?
A binnacle, which is a case that supports and protects a ship’s compass, located near the helm.
A chronometer, which is a time-keeping instrument allowing sailors to measure the stars against specific points in time, giving them their latitude and longitude. (or more simply, their position)
The radio telegraph, which transmits telegraphic messages through radio waves, usually in Morse code.
Widely used on ships, a gyrocompass is a compass which finds North by using a gyroscope instead of a magnet.
The ship’s wheel which adjusts the angle of the rudder and controls the direction of the ship. It is also called the helm, together with the rest of the steering mechanism.
An engine order telegraph is a device used on a ship to send signals from the bridge to the engine room, or to the station where the ship’s engines are controlled.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery
The Great Lakes provide a home to one of the world’s greatest freshwater fisheries. Great Lakes fisheries are defined as intricate webs of fish populations, their aquatic environments, and the people who use and enjoy them. These fisheries are important parts of the Life of the Lakes.
History of the Great Lakes Fisheries
The fisheries in the lakes became established during glacial times, thousands of years ago. Change continued with the arrival of explorers, traders and settlers, and with the increased human populations in the Great Lakes basin. Changes in the life of the lakes reflect the history of the Great Lakes region. Through the history of the fishery, we can understand the vitality and productivity of the lakes and those who lives were and are directly impacted by the lakes. Fishes serve as valuable indicators of environmental health and changes in fish populations have served as early warning signals of poor environmental quality.
Ecology of the Great Lakes
Ecology is the study of the interaction between abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) factors. The features of the lakes interact with the abiotic and biotic organisms to affect the amount and type of life that can be supported. Because of their size and varied geography, geology and ecology, the Great Lakes are comprised of sub-regions that vary in climate, sunlight, temperature, depth, nutrients, chemical composition, water movements, shoreline, and other physical and biological characteristics. Understanding the ecology of the Great Lakes requires the study of these characteristics.
Today’s Great Lakes Fisheries
Factors Influencing Today’s Great Lakes Fisheries
Social Changes
Technological Changes
Environmental Changes
Settlement
• Cultures mixing (Native, European)
• Immigration
• Population pressures
• Urbanization
Changes in Values Over Time
• Developing markets in eastern U.S. and Canada
• Rise of recreation and tourism
• Global markets, economic
• Environmentalism, sustainability
Land Use Patterns
• Logging, dams, canals
• Conversion of land from prairie and forest to agricultural, industrial and residential uses
• Sprawl
Harvest and Other Technologies
• Nets, floats
• Boats, engines
• Radios, navigational equipment
• Fish finders
• Transport and refrigeration
Modification of Drainage Basins
• Landscape, physical, chemical and biological changes
Exotics and Invasive Species
• Varied sources of introduction
• Prevention and management strategies
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
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Factors Influencing Today’s Great Lakes
Sociopolitical Changes
• Treaties (between native peoples and immigrants
• Policy changes: state, federal, tribal
• Cross-jurisdictional (interstate) and international cooperation
Fisheries – continued
Management Science Technologies
• Hatcheries
• Genetics
• Population and ecosystem modeling
• Computers
• Restrictions
• Disease detection, monitoring and management
Physical and Chemical Modifications
• Cultural impacts causing soil erosion, warming of the water, and run-off of nutrients
• Contaminants
Atmospheric and Global Changes
• Contaminants in the atmosphere
• Movement of contaminants in ecosystems
• Global warming
Future of the Great Lakes Fisheries
Understanding Great Lakes fisheries helps us to better understand what constitutes quality of life in and around the lakes. In the coming years, Great Lakes fisheries will continue to experience the implications of many challenges from the past – notably contaminants, exotics, changes in the status of certain fisheries and management of a vast international resource. Future Great Lakes fisheries will face challenges in three main areas:
• Ecosystem management
• Research, fisheries management, and involvement of decision makers
• Involvement of user groups in fisheries management
How You Can Help Great Lakes Fisheries in the Future?
• Become informed! Read fisheries related information or visit science-based organizations such as the Michigan Sea Grant program at http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/
• Contact your legislators or an agency responsible for managing and regulating the fishery, such as the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service
• Attend Great Lakes events that celebrate and support Great Lakes fisheries and water quality
• Participate in water clean-up projects
• Take everyday actions to protect water quality and healthy fisheries – choose, use and dispose of home and garden chemicals wisely
Source: Michigan Sea Grant Program
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
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PART III: LESSON PLANS FOR THE CLASSROOM
The lesson plans for Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage correlate to the exhibit themes:
Geology/The Third Coast
1. “Michigan History”
Students use Social Studies skills to make a time line marked along a string in 500-year intervals, thus becoming aware of the eons about which we have only limited information, derived from archaeological investigation and oral tradition.
2. “When Glaciers Covered Michigan”
Students use Social Studies, Vocabulary and Science skills to understand the effects of glaciation on Michigan’s surface and describe how Michigan vegetation changed after the glaciers melted.
Great Lakes Superhighway
3. “Where did Michigan’s First People Live?”
Students use Social Studies skills to learn about the major Native American tribes and their locations in Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas upon the arrival of Europeans.
4. “Canoe Routes of Native Americans in Michigan”
Students use Social Studies and Map skills to understand Michigan’s waterways and how Native Americans and early fur trader used them for navigation.
Lighthouses: Caution Lights for the Superhighway
5. “Make a Lighthouse”
Students use art and history skills to make a model lighthouse using patterns of lighthouses on the Great Lakes and a flashlight.
Shipwrecks and Lifesaving
6. “Great Lakes Shipping: The Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald” for Grade 6
Students use History, Social Studies, and Reading to define new terms related to shipping, learn about different theories that explain the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. They then will create a detailed map of the route taken by the Edmund Fitzgerald and explain one theory of the sinking.
Great Lakes Ecology and Preservation
7. “Water Quantity” for Grades 4 – 8
Students use Science and Critical Thinking skills to understand the relative scarcity of freshwater on earth and the importance of conserving water usable by humans and animals.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
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Geology/The Third Coast
Lesson Plan 1
Michigan History on a String -
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-94550–,00.html
(Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries)
Primary Subject: Social Studies
Secondary Subject: Math
Objectives: Students will compare Michigan’s long existence with its short written history and identify key dates in Michigan’s existence.
Materials:
• String, yarn or twine: one 12-foot-long piece for each student
• Ruler
• Colored markers
• Teacher’s reference page: “A String Time Line of Michigan History” (Click link below for PDF page.) http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_string-timeline_93325_7.pdf
Directions: Have students each make a string time line of Michigan history, then visit other grades to show younger students how much history Michigan has. The photo on the teacher’s reference page illustrates the string time line. Give each student a piece of string. Then have students do the following (see reference page):
1. Indicate today’s era: Knot one end of the string. This will symbolize this year.
2. Show time in 500-year intervals: Measure back from the knot 5 inches and knot the string again. Keep tying knots in the string every five inches until you have 20 more knots (21 with the first knot at the end). Color the knot at 1500 years with a red marker.
3. Indicate the amount of time since the Europeans arrived (around 1620). Color the year 2000 knot and color the length of string for about 4 inches back from the knot (to indicate 400 years) with a black marker.
4. Color the last knot with a blue marker to represent 8000 B.C. (approximate arrival of the ancient Paleo people).
5. Partially show (and imagine) the time it took for this land we call Michigan to form by leaving the end of the string before the blue knot as long as you can. (The teacher’s version of the time line might have the wound ball of string still connected at that end.)
6. Conduct a discussion about the meaning of the knots and colors. Ask:
7. Which part of the string shows how long people lived in Michigan? (all from the 8000 B.C. [blue] knot)
8. When did Columbus arrive in the Western Hemisphere? Where would that date fall on the string time line? (1492, next to the 1500 [red] knot)
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9. Which part shows the time for which we have Michigan history that people wrote down? (the black colored section after the Europeans arrived c 1620)
10. Which part of the string shows the amount of time for which we have history of peoples that is not written down? We call this time “precontact” and depend upon archaeologists to help us learn how people lived then. (the uncolored portion of the string from 1620 to the blue knot)
11. Optional: Have students make a tag for their own birth date (or an event they’ve studied). Tie it onto the string at the appropriate place. Add tags for the archaeological periods illustrated in the Michigan Historical Museum’s First People exhibits.
Ask students to each give a brief talk using the string time line to explain what they now know about time and history in Michigan. After they have practiced their presentation, visit other classrooms so they can share what they learned.
Questions for Discussion or Research:
1. What would you like to know about Michigan history that you could only learn from an archaeologist or the oral tradition of Michigan’s Indians?
2. How does Michigan’s climate make it difficult for archaeologists to find intact artifacts left behind by Michigan’s first people?
Vocabulary
• Anthropology: the study of people, their relationships, culture and history
• Archaeology: the scientific study of the culture of a people through things they left behind (e.g., implements, artifacts, monuments, inscriptions) found in the earth
• Artifact: an object made or modified by people
• Oral tradition: information, opinions, beliefs, and customs handed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth
• Time line: a visual representation of important events or years in chronological order
References
• Fitting, James E. The Archaeology of Michigan: A Guide to the Prehistory of the Great Lakes Region (2nd, rev. ed.). Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1975.
• Lewis, Ferris Everett. Michigan, Yesterday and Today (ninth ed.). Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers, 1980.
• Tanner, Helen Hornbeck (Editor). Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
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Lesson Plan 2
When Glaciers Covered Michigan –
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-94369–,00.html
(Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries)
Primary Subject: Social Studies
Secondary Subjects: Geography, History, Vocabulary
Background Notes: Several advances and retreats of continental glaciers covered Michigan over many thousands of years. The most recent glacier retreated (melted) about 14,000 years ago, leaving the land formation much as it is today. Vegetation was different from today: first tundra-like, then later covered with spruce forests and bogs. Ice Age mammals inhabited Michigan then: mammoth, mastodon, caribou and giant beaver. Human hunters of the caribou came into Michigan to stalk and kill the big game animals for food, fur and other necessities. The Paleo (ancient) Indians were believed to be the first humans to visit what is now Michigan.
Objectives: Students will draw (show) the effects of glaciation on Michigan’s surface and describe how Michigan vegetation changed after the glaciers melted.
Materials Needed
• Plastic milk jug with the top cut off
• Water; sand and gravel
• Refrigerator/freezer
Directions: Freeze a mixture of sand, gravel, and water in the milk jug. Allow the frozen mixture to thaw sufficiently on the edges to allow removal from the jug (or cut away the jug). Examine the ice block and discuss how the real glacier would have accumulated the sand and gravel. Allow the ice block to melt in an undisturbed location (on a sidewalk or playground surface or in a large pan in the classroom). Discuss what happened to the “glacial runoff” (water) and what happened to the sand and gravel (formation of hills, i.e., glacial moraines).
Questions for Discussion or Research
• What would it have been like to have lived in Michigan at the end of the Ice Age?
• If the ice sheets that once covered our state were a mile thick, how deep would that be? How many times would you have to stack your school building on top of itself to make a mile high stack?
Vocabulary
• Bog: wet spongy ground; marsh or swamp
• Canadian Shield: an area of almost 2,000,000 square miles of Precambrian strata that occupies most of eastern and central Canada and extends into the states of New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It contains large deposits of copper, gold, and iron ore. The glaciers pushed many of its rocks into Michigan, forming moraines.
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• Coal: black, combustible mineral formed from deteriorating vegetable matter away from air, under different temperatures and pressure for over a million years
• Copper: reddish-brown, metallic element; excellent conductor of electricity and heat
• Delta: a deposit of sand and soil, usually triangular, formed at the mouth of rivers
• Dolomite: common rock-forming mineral often occurring in extensive beds
• Drainage basin: land drained by a river system
• Esker: a winding, narrow ridge of sand or gravel, usually by a stream flowing in or under glacial ice
• Glacial striations: parallel lines on rock surfaces or crystal faces
• Glacier: compacted snow frozen into a huge mass of moving ice
• Gypsum: a mineral that occurs in sedimentary rock; used for making plaster of Paris and in treating soil
• Halite: rock salt; native sodium chloride
• Iron ore: unwrought natural material from which iron can be extracted
• Limestone: rock composed of organic remains of sea animals use in building; when crystallized by heat and pressure becomes marble. Limestone is used for smelting iron ore to make steel
• Loam: rich soil composed of clay, sand, and some organic matter
• Moraine: an accumulation of earth and stones carried and deposited by a glacier
• Oil: greasy, combustible substance obtained from animal, vegetable, or mineral sources, not soluble in water
• Outwash plain: sand and gravel deposited by meltwater streams in front of glacial ice
• Sandstone: common bedded sedimentary rock used for building; composed largely of sand grains to form coherent mass
• Shale: fine-grained, thinly bedded rock formed by hardening of clay; splits easily into thin layers
• Watershed: a ridge or stretch of high land dividing area drained by different rivers or river systems
References
• Doff, John, Jr., and Eschman, Donald F. (1970). Geology of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
• Fitting, James E. (1970). The Archaeology of Michigan. Garden City, NY: The Natural History Press.
• Heinrich, E. Wm. (1976). The Mineralogy of Michigan, Bulletin 6. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Division.
• Kelley, R. W. (1967). The Glacial Lakes Around Michigan. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Division.
• Larsen, Curtis E. (1987). Geological History of Glacial Lake Algonquin and the Upper Great Lakes, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1801. Books and Open File Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225.
• Pielou. E. C. (1991). After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
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The Great Lakes Superhighway
Lesson Plan 3
Where did Michigan’s First People Live? -
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-94373–,00.html
(Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries)
Primary Subject: Social Studies
Secondary Subjects: History, Vocabulary, Geography
Background Notes: The First People entered the area we call Michigan over 10,000 years ago. They hunted and fished for thousands of years. Yet the environment showed little impact from their lives here. When the Europeans arrived around 1620, Woodland peoples of the Algonquian language groups lived on this land that would become Michigan. This chart lists the tribes and their approximate Michigan locations.
Menominee
South central Upper Peninsula (near present Menominee River and Green Bay)
Chippewa (Ojibwa)
Eastern Upper Peninsula
Ottawa
Eastern Upper Peninsula, Canada
Potawatomi
Western lower Michigan
Mascowten
Western and central southern lower Michigan
Sauk
Eastern central lower Michigan, near Saginaw Bay
Fox
Eastern lower Michigan, near Lake Huron
Kickapoo
Southeastern corner of lower Michigan
Miami
Southwestern corner of lower Michigan
Learning Objectives: Students will identify Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas and the directions—north, south, east, and west—on an outline map of Michigan. Students will be able to correctly identify the major Native American tribes and their locations upon the arrival of Europeans in the area that is now the state of Michigan.
Materials Needed
• Pencils, pens or markers
• Blank outline map of Michigan (Click below for PDF map.) http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_outlinemap_74426_7.pdf
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• Teacher: completed map for reference (Click below for completed PDF map.) http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_tribal-locationsp65_93237_7.pdf
Directions: This activity assumes knowledge of directional concepts (north, south, east, west) and the concepts of upper and lower (peninsula). Review these using a Michigan map before beginning the activity. (Note that there are no definite areas marked with lines. Tribes moved seasonally and—due to conflicts and interactions with the French, British and Americans—changed locations into the 19th century.) Provide each student with an outline map of Michigan. Write the names of the major Indian tribes on the board. Using a Michigan wall map discuss the tribes and point out the areas in which they lived. Have students write the names of the tribes on their own maps during the discussion. (For greater challenge, distribute the blank maps and assign the activity to be completed from memory after the class discussion.)
Questions for Further Research
1. Why did some Indian tribes move from one section of Michigan to another?
2. Was each tribe aware of neighboring tribes? How did they get to know each other?
Vocabulary
• Peninsula: A section of land surrounded by water on all sides but one.
• Tribe: A group of people made up of many families.
References
• Cleland, Charles E. Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan’s Native Americans. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, 1992.
• Clifton, James A., George L. Cornell, and James M. McClurken. People of the Three Fires. Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council, 1968.
• Farm Bureau Insurance Group. Early Indians of Michigan. Lansing, MI: Farm Bureau Insurance Group, n.d.
• Halsey, John R. (Editor). Indians in Michigan. Great Lakes Informant, Series 2, Number 10. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of State, History Division, 1984.
• Sturtevant, William C. (Editor). Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.
• Tanner, Helen Hornbeck (Editor). Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
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Lesson Plan 4
Canoe Routes of Native Americans in Michigan
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_18670_18793-94377–,00.html
(Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries)
Primary Subject: Social Studies, Art History
Secondary Subjects: Sociology, History, Language Arts
Background Notes: Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes and has many rivers and smaller lakes within its borders. The First People of Michigan found canoe travel an efficient way to get from one place to another. When the French and English came seeking furs, they recognized it as a good way to travel and adopted the canoe for their own use. Native Americans and fur traders frequently had to “portage” to get from one river to another. To portage they carried their canoes and fur bundles from one river or body of water to another. In later years some rivers were rerouted or canals dug to eliminate the need to portage. For example, a canal was dug to make it possible to cross the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton County without portaging.
Learning Objectives: Given a highway map of Michigan and a projected overhead transparency of the included map of Michigan rivers, the student will highlight the rivers used by Native Americans on the highway map. Students will be able to explain the extent of Michigan’s waterways.
Materials Needed:
• Michigan Department of Transportation highway map (Click below to order for free)
• http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9622_11033_11151—,00.html
• Overhead transparency of map of Michigan with rivers (Click below for PDF map) http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_mi-rivers-map_93199_7.pdf
• Highlighter pens
Directions: Make an overhead transparency from the map of Michigan rivers (see above for pdf). Project the overhead transparency so that it can be viewed by the entire class. Ask students to open their highway maps. Locate, identify by name and discuss (location, source, outlet) Michigan’s major rivers. Direct students to highlight the rivers discussed on their maps of Michigan. Write the name of each river on the transparency as students identify it. Ask students to suggest places where the early travelers would have needed to portage to get from one river to another. Mark them on the transparency map. Are there other rivers—especially near your town—that would have served as canoe routes? Highlight them on the highway maps and add them to the overhead transparency. Optional: a county map is useful for locating nearby rivers.
Questions for Discussion or Research
1. Why did Native Americans choose rivers as a major means of travel in Michigan?
2. Why did the early French and British adventurers also travel mostly by lake and river?
3. What major Michigan cities are near rivers?
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Vocabulary
• Canoe: A light narrow boat with both ends sharp, usually moved by paddling.
• Portage: (n.) The route followed to carry boats or goods overland from one body of water to another. (v.) to carry the canoe, back, etc., over land to the next available waterway.
References
• Sommers, Lawrence M. (Editor). Atlas of Michigan. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press (Distributed by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI), 1977.
• Tanner, Helen Hornbeck (Editor). Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
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Lighthouses
Lesson Plan 5
Make a Lighthouse
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-15481_19268_20778-95614–,00.html
(Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries)
Primary Subjects: Art, History
Secondary Subjects: Geology
You are a Great Lakes sailor 100 years ago. Lighthouses warn you away from rocks and reefs and shallow waters. But they do more than that. They let you know where you are. You follow the coastline as you travel from port to port. And you follow the lighthouses.
Blink, blink! How do you find your position during at night? You look for the flashes of light. Each light has its own pattern, called its characteristic. One light may flash slowly, another quickly, another in groups of two or three flashes with a pause in between, another with a red or green light flashing after the white light. In a flashing pattern the dark pause between the flashes lasts longer than the flash of light. Some lights have an occulting pattern. In an occulting pattern the flash of light lasts longer than the dark pause between the flashes. You know the pattern of the different lights, so you always know where you are along the coast at night.
How do you find your position during the day? You look for the lighthouse. Lighthouses have different shapes. Some are free-standing towers. Others are attached to a keeper’s house. They are painted in different colors or patterns. White paint helps them stand out against the trees and sky. Some towers are all white. Some have alternating stripes of white and black or of white and red. On some, the stripe has a spiral pattern like a barber pole. The pattern or color of a lighthouse is called its day mark. You know the day mark of each tower, so you always know where you are during the day.
You can make paper models of four Michigan lighthouses that each have a different day mark. This activity has patterns for these lights:
• Detroit River, Lake Erie
• Fort Gratiot, Lake Huron
• Stannard Rock, Lake Superior
• White Shoal, Lake Michigan
Materials Needed:
• The paper lighthouse patterns [PDF, 4 pages] Click the link below for patterns. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_lighthouse-patterns_94526_7.pdf
• A piece of tabloid-size (11″ x 17″) plain white paper for each tower you want to make
• A way to enlarge each pattern 2x. (Use a copy machine or redraw the pattern.)
• Crayons, water-based markers or water paint
• A 10 oz. clear plastic drinking cup for each tower
• Tape
• A flashlight 6-8″ long that can stand upright on the end opposite its light
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Directions:
• Copy or trace each pattern onto a sheet of the large paper. Make the new pattern about two times bigger than the original.
• Color the lighthouse walls according to the directions on the pattern page.
• Cut out the pattern.
• Tape or glue the side edges together so that the plain strip is underneath the opposite
• edge. You now have a cone-shaped tower with a wide base and a narrow top.
• Insert the plastic cup—bottom first—into the base of the tower as far as it will go. Use a few pieces of tape on the inside of the tower to keep it there.
• Place the flashlight on a tabletop and turn on the light. Put your lighthouse over the flashlight.
• Turn off the lights in the room to see your lighthouse shine! (Important: do not use a candle or any type of flammable light near your paper lighthouse!)
(NOTE: If you cannot enlarge the pattern, you can make a mini-lighthouse using a clear 3-5 oz. bathroom-size plastic cup and a pen-size flashlight.)
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Shipwrecks and Lifesaving
Lesson Plan 6
Great Lakes Shipping: The Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
By Judi Vittio and Dan Kust
http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/education/great_lakes_maritime/teaching_units/Vittito_Kust_Ed_Fitz_Lesson.pdf
Grade Level: Grade 6
Primary Subjects: Reading and Social Studies
Secondary Subjects: Mapping, Vocabulary
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to define new terms related to shipping (examples: taconite/iron ore, aft, stern, ballast, listing, broach). They will also recognize the different between the two major theories (open Hatch and Shoaling) that support the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. They will create a map of the Great Lakes shipping route used by the Edmund Fitzgerald and construct a brief presentation to the class that demonstrates this event.
Materials Needed:
• Map of the Great Lakes (One for each student)
• Video: Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald
• The Edmund Fitzgerald Lost with All Hands by Capt. Robert Hertel
• The Edmund Fitzgerald Song of the Bell by Kathy-Jo Wargin
• Gordon Lightfoot – Gord’s Gold Volume II (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald) with lyrics
• LCD projector/lap top/internet access
• Colored Pencils
• Ruler
Vocabulary Words
1. Aft – back or behind
2. Ballast – weight added to lower a ship in the water making it less top heavy
3. Broach – when a vessel rolls onto its side
4. Listing – tipping to the side
5. Stern – back of the ship
6. Taconite – iron ore found in the Lake Superior region, refined, and formed into pellets
7. Shipping Route – the route in which a freighter travels from port to port
Background Information:On November 9, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald left the port of Superior Wisconsin bound for Detroit, Michigan. Carrying 26 thousand tons of taconite to be used to build cars, the crew anticipated a routine trip across Lake Superior. The Arthur M Anderson, another Great Lakes freighter was 10 miles behind the Ed Fitz. When a gale warning was issued by the weather service, the two ships decided to travel together. Several significant communication failures occurred – long range radar was not operative, then short range was lost, then the Whitefish Point Lighthouse lost power due to the storm. Essentially, the Ed Fitz was without navigational aids.
Two theories surround the tragic disappearance of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Shoaling, or running aground, is one popular theory. It is believed that the great ship struck bottom on the Six Fathom Shoal
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off the shores of Caribou Island. Another theory is referred to as the Open Hatch Theory. Some believe that the hatches were not sealed properly, causing the freighter to take on excessive amounts of water that resulted in the ultimate sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Pre-Assessment/Focus Questions
1. What is the significance of the name, Edmund Fitzgerald?
2. What cargo is transported across the Great Lakes?
Attention-Getter or Hook
Listen to the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot. Have lyrics available to students so that they can follow along.
Procedure
Day One
1. Write pre-assessment questions on the board. Discuss student responses and give correct information.
2. Distribute lyrics.
3. Play the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.
4. Listen to the song and discuss.
5. Write the 6 vocabulary terms on the board for students to listen to during the reading of the book, The Edmund Fitzgerald Song of the Bell by Kathy-Jo Wargin.
6. Record and discuss vocabulary and events in the book.
Day Two
1. Distribute book The Edmund Fitzgerald Lost With All Hands by Capt. Robert Hertel.
2. In small groups partner read pages 38-43.
3. Record notes on the shoaling and open hatch theories.
4. Whole class discussion about theories that support the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
5. Closure: Read epilogue
Day Three
1. Distribute blank maps of the Great Lakes & Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) packet of shipping routes on the Great Lakes (for teacher and student reference).
2. Teacher display map of shipping routes from LCA and LCD projector for classroom discussion on shipping. Address the following topics:
a. Minnesota exports (taconite etc.)
b. Shipping routes/stops/locks
3. Students label the following locations:
a. Superior, Wisconsin
b. Duluth, Minnesota
c. Port Huron, Michigan
d. Detroit, Michigan
e. Marquette, Michigan
f. Michipicoten Island
g. Six Fathom Shoals
h. Caribou Island
i. Whitefish Point
j. Sault Sainte Marie
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k. Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake St. Lawrence
l. Toronto, Canada
m. Atlantic Ocean
4. Trace a shipping route starting in Duluth, Minnesota to Detroit, Michigan.
5. Trace a shipping route starting in Marquette, Michigan to Toronto, Canada and out to the Atlantic Ocean
Day Four
1. View Video: Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald
2. Discuss significant points and review KWL chart from Day One
3. In small groups students web significant events of the Ed Fitz
4. Students choose one of these events and create a brief performance modeling the event.
5. Share with class on the following day.
References
-Holling Clancy Holling. Paddle to the Sea
- http://www.great-lakes.net/econ/busenvt/maritime.html
- http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/
- http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com.home.html
- http://www.nmc.edu/maritime/
- http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seawaymap/index/html
- Hertel, Robert. (1999). The Edmund Fitzgerald Lost With All Hands (p. 29, pp38-45. Spring Lake, Michigan: River Road Publications, Inc.
- Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald (video). (1995) Great lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
- Wargin, Kathy-Jo. (2003). The Edmund Fitzgerald Song of the Bell. Chelsea, Michigan: Sleeping Bear Press.
- Boswell, Mark (November 10, 2005) “When the Gales of November Came Slashing – The Edmund Fitzgerald” Minneapolis Star Tribune
- Lake Carriers Association www.lcaships.com
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Great Lakes Preservation
Lesson Plan 7
Water Quantity
http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/flow/U2/U2-L3.html
Grade Level: Grades 4-8
Primary Subject: Science
Secondary Subject: Social Studies
Learning Objectives: After participating in this activity, students will experience the relative scarcity of freshwater on the planet and explain why some of the earth’s water is not easily accessible
Summary Even though the earth contains an abundance of water, only a small percentage is fresh water. An even smaller amount of this freshwater is accessible and usable by the people and animals that need it. As the human population grows, the amount of freshwater available per person shrinks. The relatively small amount of available freshwater demonstrates how critical it is for everyone to help maintain clean, healthy lakes and streams.
Background Information: Oceans and seas contain more than 97 percent of the water on the planet. Because it is salt water, it is not healthy for humans and animals to drink. The remaining supply of water on Earth is fresh water. The amount of freshwater available for use by living beings is very small (See chart). The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface freshwater. Other reservoirs of freshwater are not available for use by humans. For instance, more than 2 percent of the Earth’s freshwater is “locked” in ice caps and glaciers. The Earth’s supply of water remains the same: the planet has as much water as it will ever have. Yet world population continues to grow. The relatively small amount of available freshwater supports more than 6 billion people. As this number increases, the amount of fresh water available per person decreases. Thus maintaining the quality of the Earth’s available fresh water is vitally important.
Amount of water in each major reservoir on earth:
Saltwater in oceans:
97.2%
Ice caps and glaciers:
2.14%
Groundwater:
0.61%
Surface water:
0.009%
Soil moisture:
0.005%
Total:
100%
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Materials and Preparation
• 5-gallon bucket
• 2-cup transparent measuring cup
• 1-cup transparent measuring cup
• 1 eye-dropper
• Water Body Worksheet
Advance Preparation Before class starts, fill the 5-gallon bucket with water. Have the other materials nearby in a place where the whole class can observe.
Note: Be sure to wipe water off the floor if spills occur during this activity.
Procedure
1. Explain to students that the water in the 5-gallon bucket represents all the water on Earth. Ask them to name the kinds of water that exist in, on or around Earth. They should be able to name rivers, lakes, oceans, clouds or water vapor, ice caps, groundwater, water held in soil, and water held in plants and animals. Provide hints so that all types of water are mentioned.
2. Ask two students to come up and help with the demonstration. Ask one of them to remove two cups of water from the bucket, using a measuring cup. Have the student hold that amount so everyone in the class can see it. Ask: What does the water in the cup represent? (Freshwater.) Ask: What does the water remaining in the bucket represent? (Saltwater.) Explain that the saltwater is not usable by humans because drinking it would make us very sick.
3. Move the bucket aside. Ask the first student to pour 1/2 cup of water into the one-cup measurer held by the other student. Ask: What does the 1-1/2 cups still left in the two-cup measurer represent? (Polar ice caps.) Explain that this water is unavailable for our use because it is frozen. Set this cup aside. The first student can return to his or her seat.
4. Ask the class what the 1/2 cup of water represents. (Groundwater, surface water (e.g. lakes, rivers, wetlands), and water vapor in the atmosphere.) Have the class guess how much water should be removed from the cup to represent only the surface water on Earth. After a few guesses, pull out the eye dropper from your pocket and draw some water into it. Place one drop of water into the hand of a few students. Explain that one drop of water out of a whole 5-gallon bucket represents the water that is available to us and other animals for drinking.
5. Allow the class to think about this for a minute. Then explain to them that the total amount of water on the planet is not going to change. Even though water moves around on the planet and changes from one kind to another, we will never have any more than we have right now.
Discuss the Results Spend some time discussing the activity with the class. The following questions are a good place to start:
• Were you surprised at how little water is available for human use?
• Would you call water a scarce or an abundant resource? Why?
• What do we need/use water for?
• Why can’t we drink saltwater?
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• The number of people who need to use Earth’s freshwater keeps increasing. If the amount of freshwater cannot change, but there are more people who need it, what does that mean? What might happen?
• Can people and animals live without clean freshwater?
• What is the main cause of the increased demand for freshwater?
Ask students to think about the term “water quality.” Find out from them what they think it means. If they get stuck, have them think about it in terms of low water quality or high water quality: would they want to drink, wash, swim, or cook with low quality water or high quality water? Have them come up with as many descriptions as they can for what might be “low quality” and “high quality” water.
Source North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences – Adapted with permission from the Girls in Science Program. Original source content: Hands On Save Our Streams – The Save Our Streams Teacher’s Manual, Chapter One, Watersheds, Water Water Everywhere and Not A Drop to Spare, Water Supply Activity, The Izaak Walton League of America.
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COPY MASTER
Water Body Worksheet
In class today, you have seen how much water is on the planet and how it is distributed. One thing people don’t think a lot about is that we depend on water every day. If you don’t get enough (clean) water, you can get very sick. In this exercise, you will calculate how much water is in your body right now, as well as how much water you are likely to utilize in your body over your whole lifetime.
1. Figure out how many pounds of water are in your body. Approximately five sixths of your body weight is water.
Use this equation: 5/6 X ___________________ lbs. = ____________________lbs.
(your weight)
2. Now use this answer to find out how many gallons of water are in your body. (Note: 1gallon of water weighs 8.1 lbs.)
__________________ lbs. / 8.1 = ___________________ gallons
(answer from part 1)
3. Now find out how much water your body needs during your life span. Each person’s body needs to replace 1.5 million gallons of water throughout their life. To get a feel for this, a back-yard
swimming pool holds about 20,000 gallons of water. How many swimming pools of water will you need in your life?
Use this equation: 1,500,000 gallons / 20,000 gallons = _________________________
(swimming pools of water used in a lifetime)
4. Was there anything here that was surprising to you? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
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PART IV: WEBSITES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
http://www.aahom.org/
Army Corps of Engineers
http://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/
Great Lakes and Ohio River District home page
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/
Detroit District home page
Bell Museum of Natural History
http://www.bellmuseum.org/
BoatNerd.com
http://www.boatnerd.com/
Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University
http://clarke.cmich.edu/
Colonial Michilimackinac State Park
http://www.mackinacparks.com/parks/colonial-michilimackinac_7/
Cranbrook Institute of Science
http://science.cranbrook.edu/
Detroit Historical Museum
http://www.detroithistorical.org/
Dossin Great Lakes Museum
http://www.detroithistorical.org/aboutus/dossin.asp
Great Lakes Commission
http://www.glc.org/
Great Lakes Information Network
http://www.great-lakes.net/
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association
http://www.gllka.com/
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/
The Historical Society of Michigan
http://www.hsmichigan.org/
Jesse Besser Museum
http://www.bessermuseum.org/
LakeFury.com
http://www.lakefury.com/
Mackinac Island State Park
http://www.mackinacparks.com/
Macomb County Historical Commission
http://www.hsmichigan.org/mountclemens/
Macomb County Library
http://www.macomb.lib.mi.us/mcl/
Michigan Historical Museum
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17447_18595_18596—,00.html
Michigan Maritime Museum
http://www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org/
Michigan Office of the Great Lakes
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3677-80115–,00.html
Michigan Oral History Association
http://www.h-net.org/~oralhist/moha/
Michigan Sea Grant Commission
http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/index.html
Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame
http://www.michiganwomenshalloffame.org/pages/timeline.htm
Mariner’s Church of Detroit
http://marinerschurchofdetroit.org/
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Mount Clemens Library
http://www.libcoop.net/mountclemens/
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/
Ninth Coast Guard District
http://www.uscg.mil/d9/
Noble Odyssey Foundation
http://www.nobleodyssey.org/
Port Huron Museum Fort Gratiot Lighthouse Museum
http://www.phmuseum.org/
Save Our South Channel Lights
http://www.soschannellights.org/
St. Clair Shores Public Library
http://www.libcoop.net/stclairshores/
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/
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PART V: MORE GREAT LAKES RESOURCES
1. Lighthouses
Forty Mile Point
Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society
PO Box 205
Rogers City, MI 49779
PH: (800) 622-4148
Hours: weekends noon-4:00
June 1-mid October
Sturgeon Point
Alcona Historical Society
PO Box 174
Harrisville, MI 48740
PH: (989) 724-6297
Pointe Aux Barques
8114 Rubicon Road
Port Hope, MI 48468
PH: (989) 428-4749
Daily 8-8 Memorial weekend to Sept. 30
2. Maritime Museums
Dossin Great Lakes Museum
100 Strand Drive
Belle Isle, Detroit, MI 48207
313-852-4051
Mackinac State Historic Parks
207 West Sinclair St.
P. O. Box 873
Mackinaw City, MI 48701
231-436-4100
Michigan Maritime Museum
260 Dyckman Avenue
South Haven, MI 49090
800-747-3810
Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum
367 N. 3rd Street
Rogers City, MI 49779
989-734-0706
Dr. John Hartig
US Coast Guard Marine Safety Office
100 Mt. Elliott Ave.
Detroit, MI 48207
313-568-9594
jhartig@msodetroit.uscg.mil
3. Historic ships and replicas
SS Keewatin Douglas
Huron Lightship Port Huron
SS Badger Ludington
Highlander Sea Port Huron
4. Underwater preserves
- Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve
- Lake Huron Shipwreck and Maritime Center
- Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve
- Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve
- Thumb Area Underwater Preserve
- Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve
5. Performing artists
Michael P. Deren – will travel
*At the Cultural Center 11/4 at 2pm.*
The Past in Person and Dodworth Saxhorn Band
2640 Powell Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
PH: (734) 663-9634
jmtderen@prodigy.net
Kitty Donohoe – will travel
*At the Cultural Center 10/28 at 2pm*
“Lighthouses & Legends”
3462 Richard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
PH: (734) 973-2998
kitdonohoe@aol.com
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
45
Larry B. Massie – will travel
*At the Cultural Center 10/13 at 2pm.*
Michigan History Storytelling
Contact: Priscilla D. Massie
2109 41st Street
Allegan, MI 49010
PH: (616) 673-3633
Lee Murdock – will travel
*At the Cultural Center 10/19 at 10:00 am & 1:00 pm 10/21 at 2pm.*
Music and stories of the Great Lakes
Contact: Joann Murdock
Artists of Note, Inc.
PO Box 11
Kaneville, IL 60144-0011
(630) 577-2742
jmurdock@mcs.com
www.leemurdock.com
Genot Picor: French Voyageur and Storyteller
*At the Cultural Center 10/14 at 2pm.*
15904 Haverhill Drive
Macomb, MI 48044
PH: (586) 566-0952
Project Lakewell: Voices of Our Past – will travel
Costumed presenters bring to life historically significant individuals who lived during the fur trade period of Great Lakes history.
Contact: James M. Meyerle
9140 Grove Road
DeWitt, MI 48820
PH: (517) 669-3710
FX: (517) 669-7873
lakewell@voyager.net
Song of the Lakes – will travel
Ambassadors of the Great Lakes
*At the Cultural Center 10/6 at 2pm.*
Contact: Mike Sullivan
PO Box 1544
Traverse City, MI 49685-1544
PH: (231) 947-0398
FX: (231) 947-4311
makenwavez@aol.com
www.songofthelakes.com
Donn P. Werling, Ph.D., Director,
Sweetwater Journey– will travel
*At the Cultural Center 11/11 at 2pm*
Ballads that tell the story of our Great Lakes heritage of lighthouses and Allen County – Fort Wayne Historical Society (collaborates with wife Diane and Eric Shaver and Richard Harris of Michigan).
PH: (260) 426-2882 x 22
History Center
302 E. Berry
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
PH: (260) 748-7854
Email: dpwerling@comcast.net
6. Ferry, Charter Boat and Cruise Companies
Great Lakes Cruise Company 3270 Washtenaw Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Great Lakes Cruise Company Toll Free: (888) 891-0203 Voice: (734) 477-6032 Email: info@greatlakescruising.com
As the only Travel Company in the world to specialize in the Great Lakes cruises, we offer unforgettable adventures on these legendary waters. We invite you to join us as we discover the Great Lakes.
Lake Huron – Huron Lady II Cruises 3560 Pine Grove Ave. #379 Port Huron, MI 48060 www.huronlady.com Toll Free: (888) 873-6726 Voice: (810) 984-1500 Email: Captrigney@hotmail.com Cruise from beautiful downtown Port Huron on an informative narrated tour of the beautiful Blue Water Area. View Great Lake freighters, the two Blue Water Bridges, Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, Lake Huron and more.
Reprinted with permission. Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
Macomb Cultural Center – October-December 2007
46
Soo Locks Boat Tours & Dinner Cruises P.O. Box 739 Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 Sault Ste Marie Locks PH: (906) 632-6301 PH: (906) 632-2512 Toll Free: (800)432-6301 Email: sales@soolocks.com Take a trip through the famous Soo Locks. The whole family will enjoy a fully narrated, memorable, and relaxing tour. Learn about the lake freighters, ocean vessels, and the historic Sault Ste. Marie. For a different cruise, try one of our Dinner or Lighthouse Cruises.
7. Museums with significant maritime exhibits
Bay County Historical Society
Gay McInerney, Executive Director
Bay County Historical Society
321 Washington Avenue
Bay City, MI 48708
PH: (989) 893-5733
FX: (989) 893-5741
http://www.bchsmuseum.org
Detroit Historical Museum
Dr. Dennis Zembala, PhD, Director
5401 Woodward
Detroit, MI 48202
PH: (313) 833-1801
FX: (313) 833-5342
Zembalad@hist.ci.detroit.mi.us
Port Huron Museum
Steve Williams, Director
1115 Sixth Street
Port Huron, MI 48060-5346
PH: (810) 982-0891
FX: (810) 982-0053
www.phmuseum.org
St. Clair Historical Museum
Ronald Brenner
308 South Fourth
St. Clair, MI 48079
PH: (810) 329-6888
8. Festivals
Boat Town Festival of Lights
Dave Klicki
P.O. Box 46941
Mt. Clemens, MI 48046
586-405-3555
Maritime Days
Holy Cross Church
610 S. Water St.
Marine City, MI 48039
810-765-3568
Maritime Festival
(Harbor Beach Chamber of Commerce)
P.O. Box 113
Harbor Beach, Michigan 48441
989-479-6477
11. Educational opportunities
Inland Seas Education Association Educational programs for youth and adults
aboard the “Schoolship”
100 Dame Street
Suttons Bay, MI 49682 PH: (231) 271-3077
Fax: (231) 271-3088 email: isea@greatlakeseducation.org •
web: http://greatlakeseducation.org/
Elderhostel
“Lake Michigan and Beyond: A Nautical Adventure”
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111
PH: 1-800-454-5768
http://www.elderhostel.org/
10. Harbor Walks
South Haven Harborwalk
Michigan Maritime Museum
260 Dyckman Avenue
South Haven, MI 49090
A series of historic markers are positioned throughout the walk from Lake Michigan and along the Black River.
Shipwrecks in Indiana: Underwater Archaelogy in Lake Michigan
January 8, 2008Shipwrecks
in Indiana
Underwater Archaeology
in Lake Michigan
Map of the Muskegon shipwreck site.
Although Indiana is a landlocked state, the
northwestern counties bordering Lake Michigan
have served as popular ports of trade and travel
for centuries. The busy lake traffic, combined
with the region’s occasionally harsh weather, has
resulted in the presence of many historic
shipwrecks within the Indiana territorial waters
of Lake Michigan.
Map of Unknown Shipwreck #2 site.
In the 1980’s, Gary D. Ellis, the first Indiana
State Archaeologist at the Department of
Natural Resources (“DNR”), and avid scuba
diver, began researching and documenting the
shipwrecks of Indiana. In 1983, Ellis began the
Submerged Artifact and Vessel Evaluation
Program (“SAVE”) to survey the Indiana
portion of Lake Michigan for cultural resources.
SAVE was initiated as a direct response to an
attempt to salvage the shipwreck of the J.D.
Marshall, which sunk in 1911. The rescue of the
Marshall by the DNR served as a catalyst for the
state to protect Indiana’s submerged cultural
resources. To date the SAVE program has
evaluated 14 shipwreck sites ranging in age from
the early to late 19th century.
Ellis trained DNR Conservation Officers in
underwater archaeological techniques to help
conduct the surveys. The methodologies
employed during the SAVE surveys included
archival research, sonar and other remote
sensing methods, systematic survey on grids or
transects, photographic and graphic
documentation, and subsurface topographic
mapping. The shipwrecks SAVE team
documented included passenger boats,
freighters, “sand-suckers,” and car ferries.
The archaeological survey of the Muskegon
(originally named the Peerless) shipwreck was
conducted over a three-year period and
consisted of 25 project dives. As a result of this
research, the Muskegon is now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Photograph of the Muskegon shipwreck.
The Muskegon was a medium sized steam
powered passenger-freighter vessel that was
brought down by fire in 1910. However, at the
time of its sinking the vessel had been converted
to a “sand-sucker.” The sand and gravel
company that owned the Muskegon sent the J.D.
Marshall, a 154-foot wooden “lumber hooker,”
to salvage the Muskegon’s deck and sandsucking
equipment in 1911. Ironically, outfitted
with the Muskegon’s complement of equipment
the Marshall itself sank the following day, over
laden and in heavy seas, and killing four men.
ODYSSEY’S SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure
January 4, 2008Contact: Shani Jefferson
Museum of Science & Industry
shanij@mosi.org
(p) 813-987-6080
Contact: Natja Igney
Odyssey Marine Exploration
nigney@shipwreck.net
(p) 813-876-1776 x 2553
NOW OPEN!
ODYSSEY’S SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure
Presented by:
Bank of America
***
NEW EXHIBITION UNCOVERS HIDDEN TREASURES
OF THE DEEP-OCEAN
***
MOSI admission fees*:
$25.95 adults, $22.95 seniors, $20.95 children (ages 2-12)
(*includes MOSI Exhibits and Galleries, SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure, and One IMAX® Film, excludes special engagement IMAX films)
Tampa, FL (June 22, 2007) – Join thousands of shipwreck enthusiasts in their quest to discover the fascinating world of underwater adventures and treasures in Odyssey Marine Exploration’s exciting multimedia exhibition SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure, which is now open at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa.
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (AMEX:OMR) made worldwide headline news recently when announcing the recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins weighing over 17 tons from a newly discovered shipwreck code-named “Black Swan.”
SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure exhibition reveals the compelling stories behind some of the world’s most famous shipwrecks, their treasures and historical artifacts, and allows visitors of all ages to interactively experience the adventure and excitement of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration through multiple hands-on exhibits. Visitors can pilot a real robot submersible, navigate a virtual ship through a terrifying hurricane, maneuver the controls of the giant robotic arm to pick up coins one at a time, battle the force of nature in a 75-mph hurricane tube, and engage in archaeology, weather and navigation games. The exhibit also includes the premiere of a new interactive pirate display that presents the lore, legends and facts of pirates who sailed the oceans of the world.
- more -
Among the authentic shipwreck treasures on display are gold and silver shipwreck coins and priceless historical artifacts archaeologically recovered from the SS Republic®* and other shipwrecks discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration. The SS Republic was a sidewheel steamer en-route from New York to New Orleans in 1865 with a fortune in gold and silver coins intended to help rebuild the war-ravaged South, when a fierce hurricane forced her to the depths of the icy Atlantic Ocean. Odyssey discovered the shipwreck in the summer of 2003 nearly 1700 feet below the ocean’s surface about 100 miles off the Georgia coast and has since recovered more than 51,000 coins and approximately 14,000 artifacts.
The exhibit is scheduled to run through February 10, 2008.
*SS Republic is a registered trademark of Odyssey Marine Exploration.
# # #
Purchase tickets by visiting www.mosi.org/shipwreck.html
Location: 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa FL 33617
Additional information and high resolution photos are available at
www.shipwreckandtreasure.com/media
About Odyssey Marine Exploration
Odyssey Marine Exploration is a Publicly Traded US Company with several shipwreck projects in various stages of development throughout the world. Additional information about Odyssey, the SS Republic shipwreck, the “Black Swan” project, and the Company’s other activities is available at www.shipwreck.net.
About (MOSI) Museum of Science & Industry
MOSI is a not-for-profit, community-based institution and educational resource dedicated to advancing public interest, knowledge, and understanding of science, industry, and technology. With a total size of over 300,000 square feet, MOSI is the largest science center in the southeastern United States, and home of the only IMAX® Dome Theatre in the state of Florida. Kids In Charge! The Children’s Science Center at MOSI is the largest children’s science center in the nation. Disasterville, featuring WeatherQuest, MOSI’s newest permanent exhibition combines education and 10,000 square feet of interactive exhibits on the remarkable science behind natural disasters.
Metallurgy of the RMS Titanic
January 4, 2008NIST-IR 6118
Metallurgy of the RMS Titanic
Tim Foecke
Metallurgy Division
National Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Technology Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001
Abstract
Metallurgical and mechanical analyses were performed on steel and rivet samples recovered from
the wreck of the RMS Titanic. It was found that the steel possessed a ductile-to-brittle transition
temperature that was very high with respect to the service temperature, making the material brittle at
ice-water temperatures. This has been attributed to both chemical and microstructural factors. It
has also been found that the wrought iron rivets used in the construction of Titanic contained an
elevated amount of incorporated slag, and that the orientation of the slag within the rivets may hold
an explanation for how the ship accumulated damage during its encounter with the iceberg.
Keywords: Titanic, forensics, fracture, mild steels, ships, manganese sulfide, rivets, wrought
iron, historical metallurgy
Introduction
On April 12, 1912, on her maiden voyage, the liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic
and sank 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland, with a loss of over 1500 people. This loss was
particularly tragic when considered in the context of what Titanic represented. At the time of her
construction, she was the largest moving man-made object. She was designed with the latest
safety features and was thought to be man’s triumph over nature. The popular press dubbed her
“unsinkable”.
This most famous of all shipwrecks has been the subject of books, film, and forensic speculation
for over 85 years. Many questions were raised from the time of the Mersey Inquiry [1] (the
official British hearing into the sinking) to the present day about what happened that night:
• Why did Titanic sink so quickly (in less than three hours)?
• What was the nature of the damage to the hull from the impact with the
iceberg?
• In what sequence did the compartments flood?
• Did she break in half at the surface, or did she sink intact?
• Were there any design flaws that could have been avoided?
Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute found Titanic under 12,000 feet of
water in 1985. Surprisingly, Titanic was found to be broken into two pieces oriented in opposite
directions. This confirmed the scattered testimony of some passengers that she broke at the
surface, but ran contrary to every account of the disaster given by surviving officers. This new
data fueled even more speculation as to how and why Titanic sank as she did.
Recovery of Material
The first piece of hull material recovered from the wreck site of the Titanic was brought back by the
French oceanographic institute submersible Nautile in 1991, during the filming of an IMAX
production on the sinking. This material came into the possession of Maritime Museum of the
Atlantic, who asked researchers at the Defence Research Establishment – Atlantic (DREA) in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and CANMET in Ottawa to test the steel’s mechanical properties [2].
Charpy impact tests were performed by Ken KarisAllen and Jim Matthews of DREA, and they
found that the steel fractured in a 100% brittle fashion at ice brine temperatures. An observation of
these tests and subsequent limited analysis can be found in an article published in Popular
Mechanics [3]. This caused wide-spread speculation that the brittle character of the hull steel in ice
water might have been a major factor in the sinking of the ship. It was considered conceivable that
the impact with the iceberg, though minor, would have been sufficient to shatter the brittle hull
plates in the bow, allowing the rapid flooding of the ship.
The Marine Forensics Panel (SD-7) of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
(SNAME), of which the author is a member, in cooperation with The Discovery Channel formed a
team that was charged with a scientific investigation of the causes of the sinking of the Titanic.
RMS Titanic Inc., headed by George Tulloch and salvor-in-possession of the wreck, provided
access to the wreck and facilitated the investigation during a salvage trip in August of 1996.
During this time, investigations of the biology of the “rusticles” hanging on the hull, the damage to
the bow now buried under fifty feet of mud by sub-surface sonar imaging, and the damage to the
ship on breakup were performed. Of particular importance to this report, a section of the Titanic’s
hull plating, along with several hull and bulkhead rivets, was recovered and turned over for
analysis.
The purpose of this study was twofold. First, a determination of the physical properties,
microstructure and chemistry of the steel from the hull of RMS Titanic was made. These results
were compared to prior studies of another sample of the steel, and to modern and contemporary
standards to determine if it could be considered inferior material for the application. Secondly,
since a great deal of the other forensic evidence [4] points to the likelihood of seam opening and
rivet failure in the sinking, a detailed analysis of the microstructure of the wrought iron rivets was
performed.
Sample Preparation and Experimental Procedure
Specimens of hull steel were cut from the larger pieces using a low speed diamond saw immersed
in cooling oil. Metallographic specimens were mounted in epoxy, mechanically polished, and
etched with 10% nital solution. Optical metallographs were obtained in all three orientations with
respect to the rolling direction. In addition, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the
polished and etched surfaces were obtained to show the microstructure in more detail, particularly
to better determine the pearlite lamellar spacing. In addition, fracture surfaces cut from Charpy
bars tested at ice water temperatures were imaged in the SEM to determine percent ductile fracture
and to observe the effect of precipitates on fracture nucleation.
Transmission electron microscope samples were prepared from the plate material. Slices
approximately 1 mm in thickness were cut using a low speed diamond saw. These were
mechanically thinned using 600 grit SiC paper and 5 μm Al2O3 slurry on cloth. 3 mm disc
samples were mechanically punched from the thinned slices, and given a final thinning to
approximately 100 μm. These samples were then dimpled to a residual thickness of approximately
20 μm using cubic boron nitride slurry on a brass wheel. Finally, the samples were thinned to
electron transparency using a liquid nitrogen cold stage ion mill. The samples were imaged using
both a Philips 430 and JOEL 3010 transmission electron microscopes (TEM)1, operating at 300
kV. Parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS) and energy-dispersive xray analysis
(EDS) were used in the 3010 to try to determine contaminant concentrations on grain boundaries.
In addition, imaging secondary ion mass spectroscopy (I-SIMS) was used to determine the
chemical composition of particles and the distribution of contamination elements in the matrix.
Mechanical characterization of the hull steel, in the form of room-temperature tensile tests and
Charpy tests run at various temperatures spanning the transition regime, were performed at the
University of Missouri – Rolla, under the supervision of Prof. H.P. Leighly [5]. Chemical
analyses were performed by Prof. Leighly [5] and also by Dr. Harold Reemsnyder of the Homer
Laboratories of Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania [6].
Experimental Results
Metallography
Steel samples of all three orientations orthogonal with respect to the rolling plane were polished
and etched to reveal the microstructure. A ferrite-pearlite microstructure was seen, with large
ferrite grains (ASTM number = 4-5, 100 μm to 130 μm equivalent diameter) and large, coarse
pearlite colonies (roughly 0.2 μm lamella thickness, but quite variable). The microstructure shows
a large amount of banding in the rolling direction. MnS and oxide particles are evident throughout
the material, and were quite large, occasionally exceeding 100 μm in length. The MnS particles
were deformed into lenticular shapes instead of being melted into stringers. Given the lack of rareearth
additions to increase the sulfide melting point (see table 2), this indicates a low rolling
temperature. The large grain size and coarse pearlite are consistent with air-cooling of the rolled
1 Identification of specific brand-names of experimental equipment does not imply
endorsement by either NIST or the U.S. Government.
plate, with no evidence of quenching or normalization treatments evident. All of this evidence is
consistent with the production of this plate in a low speed rolling mill, as was the norm in turn-ofthe-
century Ireland.
A comparable modern steel grade is AISI 1018, which has a similar chemistry and does not
possess a specialized microstructure. Micrographs of a modern 1018 steel show a finer grain size,
much finer pearlite, and smaller and less numerous rare-earth doped MnS particles. This
microstructure is typical of that produced in a modern high-speed mill, followed by a quench and
normalization treatment.
Figure 1: Scanning electron microscope image of the polished and etched longitudinal sections of
steel from the hull of the Titanic, and for comparison a modern hot-rolled 25 mm (1”) AISI 1018
plate. Note the differences in grain size, pearlite lamella spacing, and MnS particle sizes.
Mechanical Testing
The data produced from tensile tests performed on steel recovered in 1996 [5] and 1991 [2] is
shown in Table 1. The uncertainty in this data is unknown. These values are consistent with the
design requirements of “15-20 tonnes per inch squared” as specified by Harland and Wolff (the
shipbuilder who constructed Titanic in Belfast in 1911 [4]). Two groups of Charpy specimens
were prepared such that in one group the long direction of the specimens were parallel to the
longitudinal direction of the hull plate (LS) and in the second group the long axis of the specimen
was parallel to the transverse direction (TL). The adjoining figure compares the experimental
results from the Charpy impact test of the Titanic hull steel for the longitudinal and transverse
rolling directions with a modern ASTM A36 mild steel [7]. Unfortunately for the purposes of a
direct correlation of properties and microstructure, the comparison of mechanical behavior was
made versus A36 steel, which is chemically nearly identical to AISI 1018 used in the
microstructural comparison, but has a more specialized microstructure. Using 20 ft-pounds (27 J.)
for the determination of the ductile-brittle transition temperature, the author [5]obtains a transition
temperature of -15oC for the modern A36 steel, while the Titanic specimens yielded transition
temperatures of +40oC for specimens in the longitudinal direction and +70oC for the transverse
direction. The transition temperatures for the Titanic steel are much above the water temperature of
-2oC at the time of the ship-iceberg collision [1].
Figure 2: A plot of the impact
energy measured by the Charpy
test versus temperature for two
different orientations for the
Titanic hull steel, as well as
modern A36 (which is
c h e m i c a l l y a n d
microstructurally very similar to
AISI 1018). The transition
temperature is marked for each
series of samples, and is
defined as that temperature
where the sample exhibited 20
ft-lbs (27 J.) of energy. Data
from reference [5]. The
uncertainty in the data is
unknown.
Table 1
Tensile Tests Results
Plate recovered in: 1996 [7] 1991 [2]
Yield Stress 38 ksi (262 MPa) 41 ksi (280 MPa)
Ultimate Tensile Stress 62.5 ksi (430 MPa) 62.6 ksi (432 MPa)
% Elongation (50 mm gage length) 29% 30.9%
Fractography
Fracture surfaces cut from the Charpy test specimens tested from the 1996 plate were examined in
the scanning electron microscope. Fracture was entirely transgranular (figure 3), with no evidence
of fractured grain boundaries. This is significant, in that if the cause of limited fracture ductility of
the steel (as evidenced by the absence of microvoids) had been sulfur embrittlement, we would
expect sulfur segregation to the grain boundaries and intergranular fracture facets. At ice-brine
temperatures, the fracture was nearly entirely brittle, with the ductile portion of the fracture surface
estimated to be less than 5 percent (figure 4). Cleavage patches on the surface, made up of 4 to 15
cleaved grains, were seen to originate at fractured MnS particles, as evidenced by tracing river lines
on the facets. This indicates that in some cases the MnS particles acted as initiators, but the
incidence of these nucleated patches amounted to less than 10% of the surface area of the Charpy
bar fracture surface.
Figure 3: SEM fractograph of Charpy bar fracture surface (LT) from a sample fractured at 0o C.
Note the presence of cleavage facets and absence of fracture grain boundaries. One or two
cleavage patches nucleated by MnS particles can be identified in this image.
Figure 4: SEM fractograph of
Charpy bar fracture surface from
a sample fractured at 0o C. Note
presence of ductility along ridges.
This micrograph contains the
largest amount of plasticity
observable on the surface in one
area of the fracture surface of this
sample.
Figure 5: SEM fractograph
showing the MnS particle that
fractured and nucleated a
patch of 15 cleaved grains.
This was determined by
tracing river lines within the
patch. Note the lenticular
shape of the particle, the
cleavage river lines eminating
from the particle, and the
fractured course pearlite
colony in the upper right
corner.
Chemical Analysis
The steel from the hull was analyzed for chemical composition. Two determinations were made on
material recovered in the 1996 expedition [5,6], and one of the 1991 material [2]. These are
summarized in table 2. It is seen that the hull is made up of a steel that is roughly equivalent to a
modern AISI 1018 mild steel, with somewhat elevated levels of sulfur and low manganese. The
oxygen content implies that this is a semi-killed steel, and the low nitrogen levels indicate that the
steel was produced in an open-hearth furnace and not by a Bessemer process [8]. Imaging of the
chemical distribution within the steel using secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and by
parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS) in the TEM showed that the sulfur in the steel
to be almost entirely tied up in the MnS particles and not distributed in the matrix nor on the grain
boundaries.
Table 2
Chemical Composition of the Hull Steel from the RMS Titanic
Element 1991 [2] 1996 [5] 1996 [6] AISI 1018 [8]
(CANMET) (U.Mo, Rolla) (Beth. Steel) (ASM)
Carbon 0.20% 0.21 % 0.21% 0.18-0.23%
Sulfur 0.065% 0.069% 0.061% 0.05% max
Manganese 0.52% 0.47 % – 0.60-1.0%
Phosphorous 0.01% 0.045% – 0.04% max
Silicon 0.025% 0.017% -
Copper 0.026% 0.024% -
Nitrogen 0.004% 0.0035% 0.0026%
Oxygen – 0.013% -
Rare Earths – -
Mn/S Ratio 8.0:1 6.8:1 – 12:1 – 20:1
Mn/C Ratio 2.5:1 2:1 – 3:1 – 7:1
All measurements in volume percent, with unknown uncertainties.
Discussion
Analysis of the Fracture Behavior of the Hull Steel
The measured fracture toughness of the steel from the hull of Titanic is unacceptably low for use as
a structural material at ice water temperatures. This is likely not due to any one single material
characteristic, but a combination of several. These can be broken down into four general
categories: effects of chemistry, microstructure, architecture, and loading rate.
Effect of the Chemistry of the Steel
Several elemental constituents can increase or decrease toughness at various concentrations. The
sulfur level measured in the Titanic hull steel is higher than that acceptable in modern steels, as is
the phosphorus concentration. Both of these elements can decrease the measured upper shelf
toughness, but have been seen to have little effect on the transition temperature [9]. The steel was
also found to be low in Mn. This can lead to sulfur embrittlement if there is insufficient Mn to tie
up all the sulfur in MnS particles. However, SIMS and PEELS data indicate this is not the case,
but rather that the sulfur is mainly occupied in sulfide particles. Mn is also a powerful solidsolution
toughening agent, which can shift the transition temperature several tens of degrees celsius
with small additions [10]. Thus the low Mn level may have had an impact on the toughness of the
ferrite matrix. Also found to be important in low-carbon steel is the ratio of manganese-to-carbon
[11], which has a desired value of 5 for a 1018 steel [12], but which measured 1.5 to 2 in the
Titanic hull steel.
It has been argued that the sulfur content of the hull steel was significantly higher than the standard
of the time, and that should have implied to the engineers that the ship was being made of material
that would have been substandard from a fracture viewpoint, given sulfur’s deleterious effect on
fracture toughness. However, it is important that one look at the sulfur content standard from a
historical viewpoint. The sulfur content standard for structural mild steel is 0.05% maximum
today. In 1906, the standard, which would have been in place at the time of the ship’s
construction, was placed at 0.04% [13]. This would indicate that the steel from the hull was even
more sub-standard at the time. However, a further investigation of the literature reveals that the
standard had been revised to 0.055% (1933, [14]) and 0.05% (1946, [15]) at various times
between 1906 and the present day. There is no evidence that the concentration level was set in
reaction to any data linking sulfur concentrations to fracture or tensile behavior, but rather seem to
be a series of estimates at an upper bound. Metallurgists of the era had an empirical knowledge
that elevated levels of certain tramp elements, most notably sulfur and phosphorus, increased the
likelihood of cracking in steel under certain service conditions. The effect had been known in
general terms for nearly a century, but a quantitative analysis was not performed until the analysis
of Liberty Ship failures during and after WW II [16]. Any assertion that the engineers constructing
the ship should have been able to link a chemical analysis showing high sulfur in any given plate to
a obvious risk of brittle fracture is unfounded. Also, it is far too simplistic to state that, simply
because there exist somewhat elevated sulfur concentrations, the steel was brittle, as will be
discussed in subsequent sections.
Effect of the Steel Microstructure
Trends have been found relating microstructural characteristics of mild steel with ferrite/pearlite
microstructures to fracture toughness. In general, larger ferrite grain sizes and pearlite colonies
give lower toughnesses [17]. There is a body of work in the literature, for example the analysis of
Ritchie, Knott and Rice [18] that the size, shape and distribution of carbides in mild steel is a
dominant factor in determining the shape and location of the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature
(BDTT). Since the steel from the hull appears to have been air-cooled and unannealed, most of the
carbon not in matrix solid solution is tied up in carbide lamella in the pearlite. It was not possible
in either the SEM or TEM to find precipitated particle carbides in the steel. So the carbide size that
would be controlling fracture behavior would be that in the pearlite, and thus a coarser pearlite
lamella spacing would cause a higher transition temperature.
The presence and large size of the MnS particles are considered deleterious to fracture resistance,
as they act as crack initiators within the steel at temperatures near the lower shelf [19]. It was seen
that the plate recovered in 1996 exhibited 5% ductile fracture during Charpy tests at ice-brine
temperatures, and that MnS particles, upon examination of the fracture surface, nucleated a few
patches of cleavage. However, the plate recovered in 1991 was 100% brittle even at room
temperature [20], placing it firmly in, not near the lower shelf regime. Thus MnS particles would
have little to no effect on toughness in this plate. The presence of MnS particles and their effect on
crack growth have been found to be much more important at high temperatures than lower
temperatures. Their effect on the fracture behavior of both the material in this study as well as the
1991 study [2] are considered negligible. Although cleavage patches have been identified on the
fracture surface as having come from the fracture of a MnS particle, and thus the formation of a
process-zone would have begun, the occurrence of this was relatively rare. It is believed that the
fracture mechanism that controlled at -2oC would have been weakest-link [18], where the first
fractured microstructural feature would have precipitated failure. And as the population of large
carbides, in the form of thick pearlite lamella, is many times that of large sulfides, it is more likely
that a fractured carbide would precipitate failure.
A finer microstructure, both in terms of grain size and in pearlite lamella spacing, would have
exhibited a significantly higher transition temperature at this composition. This could have been
obtained by rolling the steel at a higher speed and temperature, then subjecting the plate to a quench
and normalization anneal. However, the concept of notch sensitivity of iron-based alloys was little
understood, and the first quantitative ways to begin to evaluate the fracture toughness of a material,
among them the Charpy V-notch test [21], was only devised in the five or so years before the
construction of the ship. It was suggested in a rather off-hand manner in the Mersey Inquiry [1]
that Charpy-like testing should have been performed on the steel of the hull. However, in 1911,
the only materials being routinely tested for fracture toughness were ordinance steels [22], where
failures by fracture were thought to be much more likely than in structural steel under normal use.
Therefore, it would have been not intuitive for the designers and builders of Titanic to have tested
the hull steel for notch sensitivity, and even if they had, they had no information about what makes
steel notch sensitive in the first place, and how to fix it. Specifications of the time for steels at the
time called for only a range of tensile strengths and tensile ductility, which are a poor indicator of
fracture toughness.
Effect of Fabrication Techniques and Architectural Design
Several practices common in turn-of-the-century shipbuilding may have contributed to making
brittle steel a factor in the sinking. All of these are noted here as possibilities only, and the exact
effect each may or may not have had on the sinking may never be known for certain.
• Stress Concentrations: Because of a lack of understanding of notch sensitivity in ironbased
alloys, there was no attempt to remove stress concentrations from the architecture of
the ship. These are commonly found at hatch corners, strake junctions, and the like.
These were found to be sources of brittle cracks in Liberty Ships during and after WW II
[23].
• Cracks at Rivet Holes: The rivet holes in the hull plates of the Titanic, and of all
contemporary ships, were cold-punched using a steam-driven ram [24]. Upon close
examination, these rivet holes were found to contain a small number of cracks. However,
the shipbuilders generally did not worry about them because they were so small, and they
thought that a well-driven rivet would exert a clamping stress that would negate any risk
[24]. However, the residual stresses from the punching process would have been
significant, and was such that they exerted a driving force on the cracks. Furthermore,
upon impact of the plate at low temperatures, these cracks could have grown in a brittle
manner and linked up, resulting in failure of the plate.
• Plate Variability: The two plate fragments recovered from the wreck and analyzed to date
(1991 [2] and this study) have exhibited significant differences in microstructure and
fracture properties. They appear to have been rolled at different temperatures, as evidenced
by the more severe banding and MnS particle melting in the 1991 plate. This variability
would have meant that some plates were at risk of brittle fracture at ice-brine temperatures,
while others would have been fine. This effect of plate variability in the hull was also seen
in the detailed analysis of Liberty Ship failures, where the initiation, propagation, and arrest
hull plates were found to have increasingly higher toughnesses at a given temperature [22].
This variability is not unexpected, as the Titanic and her two sister ships were twice as
large as any previously built, and iron feedstock was being assembled from all over the
United Kingdom [25]. Also, the plates were being produced in 40 ton batches, versus the
500 ton batches typical for today [25].
Effect of Loading Rate
Iron-based alloys are well-known to exhibit strain-rate sensitive fracture behavior. That is, the
faster the crack is loaded, the more brittle the fracture character. There is both direct and indirect
evidence that the steel used in the hull of the Titanic and her sister ships exhibited this behavior.
Imaging of the hull of the Titanic by Nautile showed considerable buckling resulting from the
impact with the seafloor [26]. Computer simulations of the sinking showed that this impact was
fairly gradual and that these plates deformed at low strain rates [7]. However, the impact of the
ship with the iceberg at 20+ knots would have occurred at strain rates more in line with a Charpy
impact test. At this rate, the steel would exhibit more brittle behavior. Additional evidence comes
from photographs of damage to the Titanic’s sister ship, RMS Olympic, after collision in Belfast
harbor with a Royal Navy cruiser, HMS Hawke [25] (figure 5). A close examination of the
photos show considerable bending of the plates around the hole, while reports of the physical
damage include a mention of a triangular piece of hull that fractured into the ship. This would be
consistent with a high strain rate impact causing fracture, and then progressively slower
deformation as the two ships pressed together, causing bending instead of cracking.
Figure 6: A close-up of the damage to the RMS Olympic due to collision with the HMS
Hawke in the Solient in 1911. Note the man for scale. A considerable amount of plasticity in
the hull plates is indicated by the bending and twisting seen in the picture. Note missing rivets.
Photo from [25].
Analysis of the Fracture Behavior of the Rivets
The findings of the Marine Forensics Panel report [7] detail that parting of seams, and not a
mythical 90 m (300 ft) gash in the bottom of the hull, made up the damage to Titanic. This would
imply that failure of the rivets may have had a role in the sinking. A detailed analysis of two hull
rivets was undertaken to determine if any metallurgical factors may have given the rivets a tendency
to fail.
Effect of Microstructure
The Titanic was assembled using some 3,000,000 hydraulically-driven rivets [7]. These were
drawn from wrought iron, a mass of iron and iron silicate that extruded into a layered structure.
These were driven through the hull plate and the stringer, and flattened on the inside. Rivets were
considered to be acceptably driven if when tapped with a hammer, one heard a clean ‘ring’. If the
sound was a dull ‘thud’, the rivet was drilled out and another driven in.
These rivets were made of wrought iron, which consists of a relatively pure iron matrix containing
2-3% (by volume) iron silicate slag. A micrograph of the structure can be seen in figure 7.
Quantitative metallography was performed on a cross-section of a hull rivet that had been cut and
polished. This showed that this rivet contained 9.3% +/- 0.3% slag on average, which is more
than 3 times the amount normally expected in wrought iron [27]. This slag had an almost bimodal-
type distribution of sizes, ranging from a large amount in very long stringers (>200 μm
long) to a large number of small oblate spheroid particles (1 μm to 5 μm diameter).
The mechanical behavior of wrought iron, and especially the fracture behavior, is known to be
highly anisotropic [8]. Parallel to the direction of the silicate stringers, the tensile strength is on the
order of a strong mild steel, while perpendicular to this the measured strength is considerably
decreased. More strikingly, the tensile strain to failure, which is one of two parameters generally
specified in 1911 for the quality of wrought iron [27], is an order of magnitude lower in the
transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction. This behavior can be simply understood by
considering the microstructure. It is important to note that there is virtually no interfacial strength
between the ferrite and slag components of the microstructure. The slag merely takes up space in
the ferrite, from a mechanical point of view, in the transverse orientation. Worse, at low
temperatures, the silicate slag can fracture and nucleate cracks in the iron, a similar effect to MnS
particles in mild steel in the transition temperature regime. And in the transverse orientation, the
slag sheets present a very large area that can nucleate a crack.
Upon impact, these rivets might have a tendency to pop out of their holes after losing the interior
head. This is evidenced by both the rivets in possession, which are missing interior heads, and by
the higher magnification of the damage to RMS Olympic after collision with the Hawke (figure 8).
If you look at the photograph, dozens of rivets around the hole are missing. Loss of rivets, and
the resultant parting of seams and water leakage, is believed to be the main occurrence that caused
the sinking of the Titanic [7].
The two hull rivets in possession have been sectioned and examined. Both exhibit the abovementioned
orientation distribution of slag stringers within the rivet, an increased amount of
incorporated slag, and are both missing the inner head. These metallurgical factors would have
degraded the mechanical performance of the rivet. If additional samples are obtained during an
expedition planned for August of 1998, further work will be performed to determine if this was a
major factor in the sinking of the ship. Rivets from an intact section of a lap joint will be sectioned
to see if rivets that did not fail contain elevated slag levels and transversely-oriented slag stringers.
It is important to reiterate that only two rivets have been sectioned to date, out of 3,000,000, some
minority percentage of which held the hull together.
But it is also important to observe that not all rivets need exhibit these undesirable characteristics
for the rivets to have played a role in the sinking. If a load from the iceberg impact is borne by the
rivets of a lap joint on the edge of a plate, failure of a small fraction of the rivets (for whatever
reason) would transfer this load onto the remaining intact rivets. This load transfer would occur
disproportionately onto the rivets immediately adjacent to the failed ones. This could bring the
stress level in these neighboring rivets to the failure level and propagate the failure of the joint,
even if the neighboring rivets are of standard quality. The microstructure of the rivets is the most
likely candidate for becoming a quantifiable metallurgical factor in the loss of Titanic.
Figure 7: Montage of micrographs showing the orientation of silicate slag at various locations
within a cross-section of a Titanic hull rivet. Note that in the upper pre-formed head (formed onto
a hot rod of wrought iron prior to cutting the rivet to length), the slag spreads out evenly into the
head like the branches of a tree. At the bottom, where the inner head popped off, very near the
fracture surface the stringers are oriented perpendicular to the tensile axis. This occurred
presumably when the inner head was formed.
Figure 8: Blowup of damage to
Olympic after collision with HMS
Hawke. This image has undergone a
considerable amount of digital image
processing to bring out the empty rivet
holes. On the entire image after
processing, one can identify in excess
of 50 rivets missing from the immediate
area of the impact. Image from [25].
Effect of Residual Stresses
A properly driven rivet possesses a considerable amount of residual tensile stress. This develops
as the rivet cools and shrinks, clamping the two plates together, and is only partially relieved by
plastic deformation in the rivet. This stress could have an effect on the behavior of the rivets
during an impact of the hull plate. The residual stress does not have an effect on the tensile
strength of the material. However, it does have an effect on the amount of plate deflection would
be required to fail the rivet during an impact. For a given rivet, the presence of a residual tensile
stress decreases the amount of additional stress needed to exceed the ultimate tensile strength of the
material. This represents a smaller amount of deflection of the hull plate applying the stress though
leverage against the supporting rib inside the ship. High residual stresses would increase the
tendency of rivets to “pop” during collisions. The presence of high residual stresses in Titanic
rivets can be seen in a badly-corroded bulkhead rivet, seen in figure 9. The head of the rivet has
exfoliated and the slag stringers have spread, driven by residual stress during stress corrosion
cracking and dissolution of the ferrite.
Figure 9: Bulkhead rivet from RMS Titanic. Note the
portion of the head that exfoliated during corrosion of
the ferrite matrix of the wrought iron, under the
influence of the residual stress in the rivet.
Conclusions
• The steel used to construct the RMS Titanic’s hull, though adequate in strength, possessed
a very low fracture toughness at ice water temperatures
• The low toughness was likely due to a complex combination of factors, including low Mn
content, a low Mn/C ratio, a large ferrite grain size and large and coarse pearlite colonies.
• There is evidently a large variation in properties among the 2000 plates that made up the
hull of Titanic. This conclusion is based on the very different microstructures and fracture
behavior observed in the two plate samples recovered to date. This is a normal result of the
variability of feedstock and rolling conditions in turn-of-the-century ironworks.
• This variability makes it difficult to determine the effect of MnS particles and microcracks
in the sinking of the ship. An analysis of the actual plates involved in the collision would
be required for a more firm determination.
• It is possible that brittle steel contributed to the damage at the bow due to the impact with
the iceberg, but much more likely that the brittle steel was a factor in the breakup of the ship
at the surface. This is discussed in much more detail in the full Forensics Panel report [7].
• Steps could have been taken to heat-treat the steel to improve its fracture properties, but this
knowledge was simply not available in 1911.
• The microstructure of the rivets that evolved during their being driven into place, with the
slag stringers oriented perpendicular to the tensile axis, may have been a direct contributor
to the type and distribution of damage to the hull. This aspect is under further
investigation.
• Given the knowledge base available to engineers at the time of the ship’s construction, it is
the author’s opinion that no apparent metallurgical mistakes were made in the construction
of the RMS Titanic.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the following colleagues for material, data, advice,
consultation, and comments:
Phil Leighly (Univ. of Missouri, Rolla, MO), Harold Reemsnyder (Homer Labs,
Bethlehem Steel, Bethlehem, PA), George Tulloch (RMS Titanic, Inc., New York, NY),
Bill Garzke (Gibbs and Cox and SNAME, Arlington, VA), Jim Matthews (Defence
Research Establishment – Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia), Bob Brigham (CANMET,
Ottawa, Quebec), Ed McCutcheon (USCG (Retired), Bethesda, MD), Bill Gerberich
(Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN), and John Bonevich (Metallurgy Division,
NIST).
References
1. 1912 Board of Trade Hearings of the Titanic Disaster (Mersey Inquiry).
2. R.J. Brigham and Y.A. Lafreniere, “Titanic Specimens”, CANMET Report 92-32(TR),
CANMET Metals Technology Laboratories, Ottawa, Canada.
3. “Titanic Steel: A Shattering Tale”, Popular Mechanics, February 1995.
4. Moss, M. and Hume, J.R. Shipbuilders to the World, 125 years of Harland and Wolff,
Belfast, Blackstaff Press, Belfast (1986).
5. K. Felkins, H.P. Leighly, and A. Jankovic, “The Royal Mail Ship Titanic: Did a
Metallurgical Failure Cause a Night to Remember?”, JOM 50 (1) (1998) p. 12.
6. Dr. Harold Reemsnyder, in a letter report to the Marine Forensics Panel (SD-7) of the
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, August 12, 1997.
7. W.A. Garzke Jr., D.K. Brown, P.K. Matthias, R. Cullimore, D. Wood, D. Livingstone,
H.P. Leighly Jr., T. Foecke, and A. Sandiford, “Titanic, The Anatomy of a Disaster”,
Proceedings of the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine
Engineers, SNAME, Jersey City, NJ (1997) p. 1-1
8. The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel, United States Steel Corporation, 7th. Edition,
Pittsburgh (1957).
9. A.J. DeArdo, Jr. and E.G. Hamburg in Sulfide Inclusions in Steel, American Society for
Metals, Metals Park, OH (1974) p. 309.
10. J.A. Rinebolt and W.J. Harris, Trans. Amer. Soc. Metals 43 (1951) p. 1175; 44
(1952) p. 225.
11. M.L. Williams, Symp. on Metallic Materials at Low Temperatures, ASTM STP 158
(1953) p. 11.
12. M.L. Williams and G.A. Ellinger, American Welding Journal 32 (1953) p. 498.
13. “Sulfur Content Standards in Structural Steels”, American Technical Society, Chicago
(1906).
14. see W.M. Wilson, J. Mather and C.O. Harris, Bull. No. 239, Ill. Experimental Station
(1931), p. 3.
15. Steel Products Manual, Section 2: Semifinished Carbon Steel Products, American Iron and
Steel Instute, Pittsburgh (1946).
16. Brittle Fracture of Welded Ship Structures: Final Report of a Board of Investigation,
convened by order of the Secretary of the Navy, US Govt. Printing Office, Washington
DC (1946)
17. ref. 6, p. 800.
18. R.O. Ritchie, J.F. Knott, and J.R. Rice, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 21 (1973) p. 395.
19. I. Kozasu and J. Tanaka in Sulfide Inclusions in Steel, American Society for Metals,
Metals Park, OH (1974) p. 286
20. J. Matthews, Defence Research Establishment – Atlantic, private communication, October
1996.
21. M. Charpy, Ass. Intern. pour l’essai des materiaux, VI Congres, rv, 5 New York (1912).
22. C.F. Tipper, The Brittle Fracture Story, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1962).
23. M. Williams, “Failures in Welded Ships, An Investigation of the Causes of Structural
Failures”, NBS Technical News Bulletin 37 (24) (1953).
24. W.A. Garzke, Jr. , Private Communication (1997).
25. Eaton, J.P. and Haas, C.A. Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy, W.W. Norton and Co., New
York (1986).
26. Private communication, D. Livingstone to W. Garzke (1996).
27. R.M. Brick and A. Phillips Structure and Properties of Alloys, McGraw-Hill, New York
(1949) p. 33
January 4, 2008
Treasure Hunters
Allan Baillie
Notes written by Catherine McCredie
Summary
Pat joins his father and his father’s friend in their search for a shipwreck off the coast
of an Indonesian island. This island is a territory in turmoil, with freedom fighters
actively seeking independence from Indonesia and the Indonesian military using
extreme methods to quell uprisings.
In searching for the lost Flor do Mar – a sixteenth-century Portuguese ship, ‘the
richest shipwreck in the world’, which was once loaded with treasures from Malacca
(near Indonesia) – Pat and the others start piecing together the old history that led to
the ship being wrecked. But they also become reluctantly and fatefully embroiled in
modern-day Indonesian politics.
Themes
Treasure Hunting and Shipwrecks
• Do many people search for lost shipwrecks?
• What kind of people are they?
• What attracts them? Would you do this?
• Who owns the treasure once it’s been found?
• How many valuable, undiscovered shipwrecks are there? Where are they? What
are some of the most famous shipwrecks? This may be research that can be done on
the Internet.
Social Responsibility
• What are our responsibilities towards others? Do you have more responsibility for
someone you know, or someone who asks you for help, than for a stranger?
• When you’re in a foreign country, are there some things you should just ignore, or
put up with? Are some things always worth fighting for? If so, what?
• How important is it to understand the politics of the country you are living in or
visiting? What is the relevance of politics to your day-to-day life?
Indonesian Politics
Allan Baillie’s most pioneering work as a writer has been to place his characters in
the centre of some of the world’s most troubled spots (with a particular focus on
Asia), thereby offering his readers invaluable insights. For this, he has drawn on his
background as a journalist, and his own far-reaching experience. For instance, it was
through witnessing the events leading up to and occurring in Tiananmen Square at
the time of the massacre that led Allan to write The China Coin.
What are some recent events that might have inspired Allan Baillie to write Treasure
Hunters? How plausible are the actions of ‘The General’ in Treasure Hunters?
• What were the effects of colonisation on Indonesia?
• What other trouble spots has Allan Baillie explored? Where could he choose next
to write about? (In fact, Allan is currently writing a novel set in present-day Egypt.
Can you imagine some elements he might use in the plot? Perhaps you could draw
up a plot outline for this novel.)
History of the Spice Islands
• What was Malacca like in the early 16th Century? What was the purpose of the
Flor de Mar’s fateful trip? Again, this type of research can be done on the Internet.
Writing style and language
How has Allan Baillie’s background as a journalist affected his writing? Do you know
other writers who were once journalists? Are there similarities between these writers
and Allan Baillie? Do you think this is a good background for a writer? Could there be
disadvantages? Why do you think Allan Baillie chose to write novels for young
people, instead of remaining a journalist? Are there particular journalists whose
writing you enjoy?
• Find newspaper or magazine articles that lead to discussion and debate – try
writing your own novel outline based around some of the real-life things you find in
the media.
Can you imagine being on a little boat off an Indonesian island with your slapdash
father? Can you imagine being a Portuguese sailor in the 16th Century? How has
Allan Baillie gone about building a picture in the reader’s mind?
• Use these questions as a springboard for your own personal or descriptive
writing.
• The historical story is written in the present tense, and the modern story is written
in the past tense. What do you think this achieves? Is it an effective technique?
Look at the structure of Treasure Hunters. Is it chronological? How does this effect
your reading of the book?
Activities
• Look at the cover of the book. What does it tell you about the story? What does it
suggest about the main character? What sense of the narrative is presented?
• How will Pat tell his story to Beth? To Robbie?
• Research the Flor de Mar. Are there treasure hunters looking for it now? Do you
think it will be discovered one day? What treasures was it carrying?
• Research Indonesian politics. What is causing the current instability in Indonesia?
Pick an Indonesian territory that is threatening to break away from the rest of
Indonesia. What measures does the Indonesian government take to quell uprisings?
What is the Australian government’s stance? Do you agree with the Australian
government’s position? What are some of the issues that the Australian government
considers when it forms a stance? Who helps the government to form an opinion?
Who decides, in the end?
• Research the history of East Timor. How and when did East Timor achieve
independence? Regarding East Timor, what was the Australian government’s stance
over the years? How and why did this stance change? Do you think it’s likely that
other Indonesian territories will also achieve independence? What about Australia?
Are there parts of Australia that would prefer to form an independent government?
How do you think governments should respond to demands for independence?
• Write your own treasure hunt – think about what your character will learn and
how they will change by the end of their adventure.
• Read one of Allan Baillie’s other political thrillers. What similar themes, if any, are
explored in Allan’s other books?
About the Author
Since the publication of his first book for children, Adrift, in 1983, Allan Baillie has
become one of Australia’s most important writers for children. His novels, which
include Little Brother (1986), The China Coin (1992) and Saving Abbie (2000), have
won him acclaim, awards and international recognition. He is also the author of
several highly successful picture books, including Drac and the Gremlin (1989).
Allan Baillie’s novels have found success in Japan, Sweden, Holland, Germany,
France, Spain, England, the United States, New Zealand and South Africa.
Allan is a versatile author who has written fantasy novels and novellas (The
Magician, Megan’s Star, Foggy), a mystery (Secrets of Walden Rising) and a
historical novel set in pre-colonial Australia (Songman). He has also written
collections of short stories.
Treasure Hunters – Allan Baillie
January 4, 2008Treasure Hunters
Allan Baillie
Notes written by Catherine McCredie
Summary
Pat joins his father and his father’s friend in their search for a shipwreck off the coast
of an Indonesian island. This island is a territory in turmoil, with freedom fighters
actively seeking independence from Indonesia and the Indonesian military using
extreme methods to quell uprisings.
In searching for the lost Flor do Mar – a sixteenth-century Portuguese ship, ‘the
richest shipwreck in the world’, which was once loaded with treasures from Malacca
(near Indonesia) – Pat and the others start piecing together the old history that led to
the ship being wrecked. But they also become reluctantly and fatefully embroiled in
modern-day Indonesian politics.
Themes
Treasure Hunting and Shipwrecks
• Do many people search for lost shipwrecks?
• What kind of people are they?
• What attracts them? Would you do this?
• Who owns the treasure once it’s been found?
• How many valuable, undiscovered shipwrecks are there? Where are they? What
are some of the most famous shipwrecks? This may be research that can be done on
the Internet.
Social Responsibility
• What are our responsibilities towards others? Do you have more responsibility for
someone you know, or someone who asks you for help, than for a stranger?
• When you’re in a foreign country, are there some things you should just ignore, or
put up with? Are some things always worth fighting for? If so, what?
• How important is it to understand the politics of the country you are living in or
visiting? What is the relevance of politics to your day-to-day life?
Indonesian Politics
Allan Baillie’s most pioneering work as a writer has been to place his characters in
the centre of some of the world’s most troubled spots (with a particular focus on
Asia), thereby offering his readers invaluable insights. For this, he has drawn on his
background as a journalist, and his own far-reaching experience. For instance, it was
through witnessing the events leading up to and occurring in Tiananmen Square at
the time of the massacre that led Allan to write The China Coin.
What are some recent events that might have inspired Allan Baillie to write Treasure
Hunters? How plausible are the actions of ‘The General’ in Treasure Hunters?
• What were the effects of colonisation on Indonesia?
• What other trouble spots has Allan Baillie explored? Where could he choose next
to write about? (In fact, Allan is currently writing a novel set in present-day Egypt.
Can you imagine some elements he might use in the plot? Perhaps you could draw
up a plot outline for this novel.)
History of the Spice Islands
• What was Malacca like in the early 16th Century? What was the purpose of the
Flor de Mar’s fateful trip? Again, this type of research can be done on the Internet.
Writing style and language
How has Allan Baillie’s background as a journalist affected his writing? Do you know
other writers who were once journalists? Are there similarities between these writers
and Allan Baillie? Do you think this is a good background for a writer? Could there be
disadvantages? Why do you think Allan Baillie chose to write novels for young
people, instead of remaining a journalist? Are there particular journalists whose
writing you enjoy?
• Find newspaper or magazine articles that lead to discussion and debate – try
writing your own novel outline based around some of the real-life things you find in
the media.
Can you imagine being on a little boat off an Indonesian island with your slapdash
father? Can you imagine being a Portuguese sailor in the 16th Century? How has
Allan Baillie gone about building a picture in the reader’s mind?
• Use these questions as a springboard for your own personal or descriptive
writing.
• The historical story is written in the present tense, and the modern story is written
in the past tense. What do you think this achieves? Is it an effective technique?
Look at the structure of Treasure Hunters. Is it chronological? How does this effect
your reading of the book?
Activities
• Look at the cover of the book. What does it tell you about the story? What does it
suggest about the main character? What sense of the narrative is presented?
• How will Pat tell his story to Beth? To Robbie?
• Research the Flor de Mar. Are there treasure hunters looking for it now? Do you
think it will be discovered one day? What treasures was it carrying?
• Research Indonesian politics. What is causing the current instability in Indonesia?
Pick an Indonesian territory that is threatening to break away from the rest of
Indonesia. What measures does the Indonesian government take to quell uprisings?
What is the Australian government’s stance? Do you agree with the Australian
government’s position? What are some of the issues that the Australian government
considers when it forms a stance? Who helps the government to form an opinion?
Who decides, in the end?
• Research the history of East Timor. How and when did East Timor achieve
independence? Regarding East Timor, what was the Australian government’s stance
over the years? How and why did this stance change? Do you think it’s likely that
other Indonesian territories will also achieve independence? What about Australia?
Are there parts of Australia that would prefer to form an independent government?
How do you think governments should respond to demands for independence?
• Write your own treasure hunt – think about what your character will learn and
how they will change by the end of their adventure.
• Read one of Allan Baillie’s other political thrillers. What similar themes, if any, are
explored in Allan’s other books?
About the Author
Since the publication of his first book for children, Adrift, in 1983, Allan Baillie has
become one of Australia’s most important writers for children. His novels, which
include Little Brother (1986), The China Coin (1992) and Saving Abbie (2000), have
won him acclaim, awards and international recognition. He is also the author of
several highly successful picture books, including Drac and the Gremlin (1989).
Allan Baillie’s novels have found success in Japan, Sweden, Holland, Germany,
France, Spain, England, the United States, New Zealand and South Africa.
Allan is a versatile author who has written fantasy novels and novellas (The
Magician, Megan’s Star, Foggy), a mystery (Secrets of Walden Rising) and a
historical novel set in pre-colonial Australia (Songman). He has also written
collections of short stories.
Famous Shipwrecks in Labuan
January 4, 2008Famous Shipwrecks in Labuan
Treasure Images underwater filming services have been required by the Malaysian
Department of Museums and Antiquities to document the condition of the 4 famous Labuan
Shipwrecks.
Known as the Australian Wreck, the American Wreck, the Blue Water Wreck and the
Cement Wreck, Labuan wrecks have not yet been protected by any laws against looters,
fishermen as well as commercial fishing trawlers.
How much damage been done and in what conditions the wrecks are has been one of the
subjective of the Museum to be researched and filmed.
During one week of filming work, Treasure Images Cameramen brought up fantastic, but
also alarming images. Although there is healthy coral grow and plenty of marine life on the
Cement Wreck, fish traps, countless fishing nets and clear signs of dynamite fishing can be
found at the Blue Water Wreck. The thin steel plates of the American Wreck are fast
deteriorating and looters have been taking almost anything of value. Countless fishing
trawlers in the region stir up silt and cover the Australian Wreck and whatever looters
haven’t taken from it yet.
We also found personal artifacts of crewmembers and passengers, as well as grenades
and ammunition on the two World War II Wrecks (The American and The Australian
Wreck), which have been given to the Museum for conservation and display.
The wrecks are part of Labuan’s and Borneo’s history and need urgent protection should
they be kept intact as war memorials and tourist attractions.
More information’s on the wrecks at www.labuantourism.com.my/explore/wreck_diving.htm
Blue Water Wreck
Cement Wreck
Australian Wreck
American Wreck
Copyright by Treasure Images Sdn Bhd
www.treasure-images.com
List of Famous Shipwrecks
January 4, 2008Library and Information Services Division
Current References 2003-3 (Revised)
List of Publications on Shipwrecks and Shipwreck Related Topics in NOAALINC*
Prepared by
Anna Fiolek
NOAA Central Library
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
U. S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
National Oceanographic Data Center
NOAA Central Library
July 31, 2003, Rev. August 25, 2004
1
2
Preface
This bibliography has been prepared on the occasion of the Brown Bag Seminar AThe Wreck of the Henrietta Marie@ presented by Michael Cottman of the Washington Post in the NOAA Central Library on July 31, 2003. The bibliography contains printed publications and online Internet resources on shipwrecks. The entries are arranged alphabetically by title.
Anna Fiolek, M.A, M.L.S.
Metadata Librarian
NOAA Central Library
Silver Spring, MD
July 31, 2003
Revised, August 25, 2004
* NOAALINC – NOAA Library Network Online Catalog.
3
List of selected publications on shipwrecks and shipwreck related topics in NOAALINC
Krieger, Michael J. 2002. All the men in the sea : the untold story of one of the greatest rescues in history. VK1329.C35 K75 2002
Holecek, Donald F. Attitudes of a scuba diving population concerning government regulation of underwater resources.
GC57.2 .M5518 no.80-201
Halsey, John R. 1990. Beneath the inland seas : Michigan’s underwater archaeological heritage. Lansing, MI : Michigan Dept. of State, Bureau of History.
CC77.U5 H3 1990
Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle.
G525 .B49
By fire, storm, and ice : underwater archeological investigations in the Apostle Islands.
F587.A8 B9 1991
Marshall, Don B. California shipwrecks : footsteps in the sea.
F863 .M37
California wreck register. 1861-1876
RAREBOOK VK1250 C3 1861-1876
CNN-science & technology : the Monitor. 1993. [videorecording]
QH91.75 .M661 1993
The Cold water survival handbook. 1989.
VK1259 .C65 2nd ed. (1989)
United States. Congress. House. Committee on International Relations. Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. 1995. The Cuban March 13th tugboat incident : hearing before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, January 25, 1995.
GOVDOC Y 4.IN 8/16:C 89/8
Bascom, Willard. Deep water, ancient ships : the treasure vault of the Mediterranean.
DE61.N3 B37
4
Goldstein, Richard. 2001. Desperate hours: the epic rescue of the Andrea Doria.
Electronic book accessible via World Wide Web at the NOAA Central Library:
http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=66450
EBOOK G530 .A244 G66 2001 eb
Heden, Karl E. (Karl Erik). 1966. Directory of shipwrecks of the Great Lakes.
VK1271 .H43 1966
Gibbs, Jim. 1971. Disaster log of ships.
VK1272 .P33 G52
Ballard, Robert D., Archbold, Rick. 1955. The discovery of the Titanic. Illustrations of the Titanic by Ken Marschall. G530.T6 B49 1995
United States. Air Force. Combat Crew Training Wing, 3636th. Environmental Information Division. Edible and hazardous marine life. By Sharee J. Pepper.
PUSMAFB Edible
Drury, Horace Featherstone, Smith, Stanley G. Emergency food value of Alaskan wild plants.
QK98.5 .D83
Hoff, Rebecca. Empire Knight : assessing environmental risk. Prepared for the United States Coast Guard Distric I. GC57 .N6 no.81
Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American shipwrecks. VK1270 .B46
Delgado, James P., editor. Encyclopedia of underwater and maritime archaeology.
CC77.U5 E53 1998
Ballard, Robert D.,Archbold, Rick. 1991. Exploring the Bismarck. D772.B5 B3 1991
Rieseberg, Harry E. (Harry Earl). 1965. Fell’s guide to sunken treasure ships of the world :
a handbook of world treasure ships, including submerged cities, for modern-day salvors and treasure-hunters. G525 .R545 1965
Procter, George H. The fishermen’s memorial and record book : containing a list of vessels and their crews lost from the port of Gloucester from the year 1830 to October 1, 1873.
C/L P964
Kite-Powell, Hauke L. 1996. Formulation of a model for ship transit risk : year 1 progress report.
GC57.2 .M3 no.96-19
5
Snow, Edward Rowe. 1964. The fury of the seas.
G525 .S577 1964
The graveyard of the Atlantic [videorecording] 1997. Production of Video Marketing Group, Inc. ; [The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum].
VK1273.N6 G7 1997
Stick, David. Graveyard of the Atlantic : shipwrecks of the North Carolina coast / by David Stick with illustrations by Frank Stick. Also available online: E-BOOK (http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=48021)
VK1273 .N6 S7 1952
Hoehling, A. A. (Adolph A.). Great ship disasters.
VK1250 .H63
Snow, Edward Rowe. Great storms and famous shipwrecks of the New England coast.
527.51 S67
Lonsdale, Adrian L., Kaplan, H. R. 1964. A guide to sunken ships in American waters.
VK1270 .L6 1964
Winslow, Ron. 1978. Hard aground : the story of the Argo Merchant oil spill.
GC1212.M4 W56 1978
Historic Shipwreck Management: Meeting of Experts (1992 : Woods Hole, Mass.). Historic shipwreck management : meeting of experts : final report / Porter Hoagland, [ed.] 1993.
VK1270 .H5 1993
Historic shipwrecks and magnetic anomalies of the northern Gulf of Mexico : reevaluation of archaeological resource management zone 1 / Ervan G. Garrison … [et al.].
F296 .H67 v.2, F296 .H67 v.3
Historic shipwrecks of the Gulf of Mexico : a teacher’s resource.
Also available online: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS12395
GOVDOC I 72.2:SH 6
V-Five Association of America. How to survive on land & sea. / prepared by Frank C. Craighead and John J. Craighead ; ill.by Elizabeth Bunker.
613.69 U58-ONO AID
Investigation of condition of wrecked ship SS Crown Reefer. 1949.
RAREBOOK VK1255.C7 I5 1949
Watts, Gordon P. 1982? Investigating the remains of the U.S.S. Monitor : a final report on 1979 site testing in the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Series: Technical report
6
(Harbor Branch Foundation), no. 42.
E595.M7 W3 1982
Keepers of the reef ; and, ocean portraits [videorecording] 1999. Production of Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and New England Aquarium.
QE565 .K4 1999
Dillon, Patrick. 1998. Lost at sea : an American tragedy.
G530.A2297 D55 1998
Hall, J. W. 1872. Marine disasters on the western lakes, during the navigation of 1871 : with the loss of life and property, vessels bought and sold, new vessels and their tonnage : also, those which have passed out of existence : with a sketch of early marine history, and vessels laid up at various lake ports.
VK1271 .M37 1872
Muckelroy, Keith. 1978. Maritime archaeology.
CC77.U5 M83 1978
Coleman, Charles. 1992. Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! : this is the Haleakala.
G530.H18 C65 1992
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. 1870. Memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, to Professor Benjamin Peirce, Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey.
RAREBOOK HF296 .S3 1870
Vrana, Kenneth J. 1989. Michigan bottomland preserves inventory.
GC57.2 M5518 no.89-500
Holecek, Donald F., Hulse, Charles A. 1980. Michigan’s coastal waters : a pilot study in underwater cultural resources.
GC57.2 .M5518 no.80-204
Monitor marine sanctuary : a photogrammetric survey : operations manual. Sponsored by Office of Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in cooperation with Harbor Branch Foundation, Incorporated.
QH91.75 .M66 1977
Montana divers. Digital video collection. 2002. Created by Jeff Gray, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve.
Electronic access: Digital video clip (col.; 35 MB;320×240; 10 sec.) http://www.lib.noaa.gov/video/oedv/montana%5Fdivers.mpg
7
Press release on the Expedition: http://www.mysticaquarium.org/ballard/ifepr/pr.asp
G530.M6 M6 2002
Municipal gazette (New York, N.Y.)
RAREBOOK QC851 .M9 v.1, no.41 (1846)-no.48 (1847)
Arnold, J. Barto, Weddle, Robert. 1978. The nautical archeology of Padre Island : the Spanish shipwrecks of 1554.
F392.P14 A74
NOAA dive site [computer file] http://www.dive.noaa.gov
Link also to NOAA Undersea Research Program home page: http://www.nurp.noaa.gov/
Link to The NOAA Diving Program (NDP) home page: http://www.ndc.noaa.gov/
GV838.672 N63 1999
Delgado, James P. 1987? Nominating historic vessels and shipwrecks to the National Register of Historic Places. [Washington, D.C.] :U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Interagency Resources Division.
Electronic access: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb20/
VK1250 .D4 1987
Newton, John Garland, Newton, J. G., and Blanton J. O. 1971. An oceanographic atlas of the Carolina continental margin.
OVERSIZE G1301.C7 N4 1971
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Oceanography. 1981- Oceanography miscellaneous : hearings before the Subcommittee on Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session. Includes AAbandoned historic shipwrecks–H.R. 132.@
GOVDOC Y 4.M 53:97-1, Y 4.M 53:97-43
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Oceanography. Oceanography miscellaneous : hearings before the Subcommittee on Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, first session. Includes AHistoric shipwrecks–H.R. 3194.@
GOVDOC Y 4.M 53:98-8
Butler, Bill. 1991.Our last chance : sixty-six deadly days adrift.
G530 .S574 E88 1991
Gibbs, Jim. 1950. Pacific graveyard : a narrative of the ships lost where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
8
527.61 G44 1950
Gibbs, Jim. 4th ed (1993). Pacific graveyard : a narrative of shipwrecks where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
G525 .G47 1993
The perfect storm [videorecording]. Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Baltimore Spring Creek Pictures production in association with Radiant Productions ; a Wolfgang Petersen film.
QC945 .P42 2000
Possible sources of wreck information. Prepared by Distribution Branch, Physical Science Services Section.
VK1259 .P6 1983 Repr. 1985
Villiers, Alan John. 1956. Posted missing; the story of ships lost without trace in recent years.
G525 .V48 1956
A preliminary bibliography of maritime archaeological and historical publications held in the Library of Michigan and the Office of State Archaeologist, Michigan Historical Center. Lansing, Mich. : Michigan Historical Center, Office of the State Archaeologist, 2003.
Z5133.U53 P7 2003
Watts, Gordon P., Cook, Roger W., Morris, Kenneth. 1979. Preliminary report : archeological and engineering expedition, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, August 1-26 1979.
E595.M7 W379 1979
Langdon, Steve J., editor. 1983. Alaskan Marine Archeology Workshop (1983 : Sitka, Alaska) Proceedings of the Alaskan Marine Archeology Workshop, May 17-19, 1983, Sitka, Alaska.
GC57.2 .A33 no.83-9, Sea Grant A-68
Proposed Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary : draft environment impact statement/draft management plan. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
CC77.U5 N38 1997 v.1-2
Record of proceedings of a board of inquiry convened at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey office, Washington, D.C., by order of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, to inquire into the loss of the late U.S.C. and G.S. steamer Isis, January 15, 1920.
RAREBOOK VK1255.I85 R43 1920
United States. Life-Saving Service. Regulations for the government of the Life-Saving
9
Service of the United States.
RAREBOOK VK1323 .U52 1873
Link, Marion Clayton. 1964. Sea diver; a quest for history under the sea.
F2161 .L54
Edwards, Hugh. 1975. Sharks and shipwrecks.
MIAMIREG Library
Rattray, Jeanette (Edwards). Repr. 1966. Ship ashore! A record of maritime disasters off Montauk and eastern Long Island, 1640-1955.
527.61 R23
Kinder, Gary. 1999. Ship of gold in the deep blue sea.
G530.C4 K56 1999
Bass, George F., editor. 1988. Ships and shipwrecks of the Americas : a history based on underwater archaeology. With 376 illustrations, 80 in color.
VK1250 .S557 1988
Holecek, Donald F., Lothrop, Susan J. 1980. Shipwreck vs. nonshipwreck scuba divers : characteristics, behavior, and expenditure patterns.
GC57.2 .M5518 no. 80-205
Tornfelt, Evert E., Burwell, Michael. 1992. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan shelf and shore.
SG525 .T56 1992, VK1273.A1T6 1992
Gibbs, Jim. 1957. Shipwrecks of the Pacific coast.
G525 .G5 1957, G525 .G47 1957
Marx, Robert F. 1975. Shipwrecks of the Western Hemisphere, 1492-1825.
VK1250 .M36 1975
Shomette, Donald. 1st ed. 1982. Shipwrecks on the Chesapeake : maritime disasters on Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, 1608-1978.
G525 .S5525
Horner, Dave. 1965. Shipwrecks, skin divers, and sunken gold. Illustrated by Jack Woodson. Photos from the author’s collection.
G525 .H82
Burgess, Robert Forrest. 1970. Sinkings, salvages, and shipwrecks.
G525 .B868 1970
10
Newell, Gordon R. 1955. SOS North Pacific : tales of shipwrecks off the Washington, British Columbia and Alaska coasts.
527.61 N54
Labadie, C. Patrick, Herdendorf, Charles E. 1998. The steamer Adventure and the Kelleys Island, Ohio limestone industry.
HD9621 .L3 1998
Pardey, Lin. 2000. Storm tactics handbook : modern methods of heaving-to for survival in extreme conditions.
VK200 .P37 2000
Franklin, Marianne, Morris, John William III, Smith, Roger C. 1992. Submerged historical resources of Pensacola Bay, Florida : the Pensacola Shipwreck Survey, phase one, 1991.
CC77.S36 F7 1992
Adams, Robert M. 1981. Survey of the steamboat Black Cloud. Department students, Anthropology-Nautical Archeology, Texas A & M University. Principal investigator, George F. Bass.
GC57.2 .T4 no.81-201
Surveys of abandoned vessels : Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 2003. Prepared by Christine Lord … [et al.]. Silver Spring, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration.
VK1294.G85 S8 2003
Surveys of abandoned vessels : U.S. Caribbean Region. 2002. Silver Spring, Md. : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration. Issued also on CD-ROM.
VK1272.C27 S8 2002, v.1
VK1272.C27 S8 2002, v.2
VK1272.C27 S8 2002 (CD-ROM)
Robertson, Dougal. 1973. Survive the savage sea.
G530 .R58
Technologies for underwater archaeology & maritime preservation.
E 159.5 .T43 1987
Hoehling, A. A. (Adolph A.). 1959. They sailed into oblivion.
G525 .H6 1959
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary : final environmental impact
11
statement/management plan, May 1999. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Also available online: http://sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/oms/pdfs/ThunderBayEIS.pdf
CC77.U5 T58 1999
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Titanic Maritime Memorial Act : hearing before the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, on H.R. 3272 … October 29, 1985.
GOVDOC Y 4.M 53:99-21
Titanic : salvage law. [videorecording]
VK1491 .T5 1998
Fish, John Perry. 1989. Unfinished voyages : a chronology of shipwrecks in the Northeastern United States.
G525 .F57 1989
The University of Rhode Island’s Underwater Bicentennial Expedition. 1974.
RAREBOOK G525 .U55 1974
Buttler, Daniel Allen. 2002 (1st Da Capo Press ed.)”Unsinkable” : the full story of RMS Titanic. Cambridge, Mass. : Da Capo Press.
G530.T6 B87 1998 Repr. 2002
User’s guide : automated wreck and obstruction information system (AWOIS). National Ocean Survey.
Electronic access: http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/hsd/awois/awoisguide.pdf
VK1270 .U84 1982 July
VK1270 .U84 1984 Jan.
VK1270 .U84 1984 Mar.
VK1270 .U84 1986 July
VK1270 .U84 1988 Nov.
VK1270 .U84 1990 Oct.
VK1270 .U84 1994 Oct.
VK1270 .U84 1997 Jan.
VK1270 .U84 1999 Nov.
VK1270 .U84 2002 Feb.
Brown, Richard G. B. 1983. Voyage of the iceberg : the story of the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
G530.T6 B76
Dzugan, Jerry, Jensen, Susan Clark. 1999. Water wise : safety for the recreational boater.
C57.2 .A3 no.51
12
Wavebreaking news. Spring 2003. Digital video (3 min., 55 sec.). Silver Spring, MD : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, 2003.
Electronic access: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/wbnews/welcome%5F03spring.html
GC1018 .W39 2003 (Online)
Wrakkenregister van het nederlandse deel van het continentale plat en de westerschelde.
VK1282.N4 W7 1988
Regan, Dennis C., Worthington, Virginia. 1978. Wreck diving in North Carolina : a directory of shipwrecks along the North Carolina coast.
GC57.2 .N6 no.78-13, sg/nc/unc-78:13.78-13
Webber, Bert. 1984. Wrecked Japanese junks adrift in the North Pacific Ocean = [Kita Taiheiy*o ni hy*ory*ushita Nihon no nanpasen]
G525 .W33 1984
Selected Internet resources:
Abandoned Shipwrecks Act. 1987. United States Code. Title 43, Public Lands, chapter 39, Abandoned Shipwrecks
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/laws/ship.htm
Abandoned Shipwrecks Act guidelines.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/submerged/intro.htm
The Association of Underwater Explorers : Shipwreck information. Updated, March 2004.
http://www.mikey.net/aue/wreckinfo.html
Blue water navies : naval warship shipwreck photo index. 2002. Navalships Information Group. Updated 2003.
http://www.navalships.org/index2.html
http://www.navalships.org/shipwrecks.html
California shipwrecks. 2000. California State Lands Commission. Updated, 2003.
http://shipwrecks.slc.ca.gov/
Includes: Online Database of California Shipwrecks
Current Shipwreck Stories on the Heritage Council Web Site. Melbourne, Australia : Heritage Victoria.
Updated, 2004.
http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/Shipwreck-Index.html
13
Shipwreck links: http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/Shipwrecks-links.html
Famous shipwrecks & other major disasters : a Coast Guard bibbliography. 1998. U.S. Coast Guard.
Updated, February 2001.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dcp/history/webshipwrecks/shipwreckbib.html
Florida State University, Program in Underwater Archeology : shipwreck databases, indices, and lists. 2003.
http://www.anthro.fsu.edu/uw/links/directory_files/shipwreck_data.html
History of shipwrecks and rescues. 1999. Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum.
http://www.ocmuseum.org/shipwrecks/
Price, Scott. 1999. Index to U.S. marchant ship losses during the Second World War (by month), December 7, 1941 – August 14, 1945 (1,000 Gross Tons or Over). U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office. Updated, April 2002.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/WEBSHIPWRECKS/ShipwreckWWIIIndex.html
Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources. Shipwreck sites open to divers.
Boston, MA : Massechusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Updated, May 2004.
http://www.mass.gov/czm/BUAR.HTM
Minnesota=s historic shipwrecks. 1996. Minnesota Historical Society.
http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/
New England shipwreck diving. 2000. MetroWest Dive Club. Updated, October 2003.
http://www.mwdc.org/Shipwrecks/Shipwrecks.html
Åkesson, Per. Nordic underwater archeology. 1996. Stockholm, Sweden. Updated, August 2004.
http://www.abc.se/~m10354/uwa/
Nordic and Baltic wrecks & shipfinds: http://www.abc.se/~m10354/uwa/wrecks.htm
Northern shipwreck database. Bedford, NS, Canada : Northern Maritime Research, Inc. Updated 2004.
http://www.northernmaritimeresearch.com/
Shipwreck sites: http://www.northernmaritimeresearch.com/links.html
14
Researching shipwrecks. 1999. U.S. Coast Guard
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dcp/history/webshipwrecks/shipwreckguide.html
Knight, J. D. 1997. Sea and Sky’s sea links: shipwrecks & treasures.
http://www.seasky.org/links/sealink10.html
Price, Scott. 1998. Search and rescue bibliography. U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dcp/history/sarbib.html
Short, Scott. 1995. Shipwreck Internet resources.
http://main.blclinks.net/~sshort/shipwrecked/swlinks.htm
Shipwreck database : bringing our historic past through shipwrecks. 2003? Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
http://www.cinms.nos.noaa.gov/shipwreck/dbase.html
Underwater archeology : wreck finds. 2000? Gdansk, Poland : Polish Maritime Museum. http://www2.rgzm.de/navis/Musea/Gdansk/PMM07.htm
U.S. Coast Guard Historian=s Office official Web site. 2002. U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/collect.html
Price, Scott. 1998. U.S. Life-Saving Service : a bibliography. U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office. Updated, October 2002.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dcp/history/uslssbib.html
Wellwood Coral Reef Restoration Project. Silver Spring, MD : NOAA, National Marine Sanctuaries Program, [2002]- Updated: Nov. 13, 2003.
http://sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/special/wellwood/
Wisconsin=s Great Lakes shipwrecks. Joint project of Wisconsin Historical Society and University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.1999.
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Shipwrecks/index.html
Worldwide Shipwreck Database. International registry of sunken ships : shipwreck records. 1995-present.
http://users.accesscomm.ca/shipwreck/
Prepared by:
Anna Fiolek, M.A., M.L.S.
Metadata Librarian
NOAA Central Library
15
1315 East-West Highway
SSMC-3, 2nd Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
e-mail: Anna.Fiolek@noaa.gov
Library home page http://www.lib.noaa.gov
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