It’s Only Been Since 1985 That We Reached The Deepest Part of Lake Michigan

In the year 1960, U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard became the first people to descend to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, seven miles below the surface. It was not only a feat of human engineering, but a feat for humanity as a whole. Man has conquered space and the most profound depths of the ocean.

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So when you learn that 25 years later was the first time anyone took on the far shallower and generally easier task of going to the bottom of Lake Michigan, you can't help but laugh a bit. While it isn't as flashy as Walsh and Piccard's achievement, one man has been to the lowest points in both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

The Chippewa Basin, Lake Michigan's Deepest Point

According to Lacey Mason of the Great Lakes Environmental Laboratory, the deepest part of Lake Michigan is located in the Chippewa Basin. It is about 925 feet deep and located about 25 miles off the shores of Ludington. At its deepest, the basin sustains a water temperature of 39°F.

Dr. Val Klump, the "Freshwater Oceanographer"

Val Klump, a limnologist who is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Great Lakes Research, has devoted more than 20 years to researching the Great Lakes. That research brought him to many different places around the Great Lakes, and he learned a lot about the Lakes by going to great lengths - literally.

READ MORE: Why Lake Michigan Was Named America’s Deadliest Lake

While Klump's research is well known, he is most known for being the first person to reach the lowest points of both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. As part of a 1985 study of sediment accumulation rates, J. Val Klump used a submersible to reach the deepest point of Lake Superior (1333 feet) to collect sediments at the bottom of the lake.

On this same research expedition, Val Klump also became the first person to reach Lake Michigan's deepest point. Since this expedition, he has published numerous research papers and is currently serving as Professor Emeritus for the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.