SS Superior City
Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1920 · Whitefish Point & Eastern Lake Superior
A 450-foot steel ore carrier that sank within minutes after a collision and boiler explosion in Whitefish Bay, killing 29.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Superior City was, at her 1898 launch, the largest vessel built on fresh water. She sailed the Great Lakes ore trade for 22 years until, downbound with iron ore, she collided with the upbound Willis L. King in Whitefish Bay in August 1920. Cold water reaching her boilers caused an explosion, and she sank quickly with 29 of her 33 crew.
Vessel
- 1898
- US 116820
- Cleveland Shipbuilding Company
- Lorain, Ohio
- Steel
- 450 ft
- 50 ft
- 4785
- Steam, propeller
- Pittsburgh Steamship Company
Loss
- August 20, 1920
- Collision
- Whitefish Bay, about 4.5 miles northeast of Whitefish Point
- Lake Superior
- Two Harbors, Minnesota
- Iron ore
- 33
- 29
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 210-270
- Upright and intact, with visible explosion damage in the stern area
- Not established
- Not established
- Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
Position
- 46.77° N 84.96° W
- General area only
- Whitefish Point, Michigan
General area only: coordinate of Whitefish Point from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place near the loss location recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Build details, loss narrative, casualty count.
Wreck condition and depth.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Whitefish Point, Michigan
coordinate of the named place near the loss location
