About Revisions Madeira Wreck SR 61, Two Harbors, MN 55616 Max Depth: 111-120ft/34-37m Average Viz: 36-40ft/11-12m Entry Type: Shore Bottom Composition: Sand/Rock Aquatic Life: Might See Something Spring: 50-55°F/10-13°C Summer: 50-55°F/10-13°C Fall: 50-55°F/10-13°C Winter: Under 50°F/10°C 1/28/2013 6:35 PM WannaGoDiving 6/03/2010 9:02 AM

Awesome Lake Superior wreck dive.


The Madeira was built and launched at the Chicago Yard of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company in 1900. It had a plate keel and was shaped very flat and full to maximize cargo capacity with minimum draft. The vessel was built to carry bulk cargoes of grain, lumber or iron ore economically about the Great Lakes and on the coasts, under tow of a steam powered freighter. The shipwreck Madeira is historically significant as the best and one of the few known surviving examples of a schooner-barge. Though the Madeira was lost in a violent storm and is broken into numerous pieces scattered about the lake bottom, the major diagnostic elements of the hull are relatively intact. The Madeira’s value is enhanced by its relationship to Split Rock Lighthouse, which was built partially because of the Madeira’s loss. The remains of the Madeira were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.