The Edmund Fitzgerald sank about 17 miles (15 nautical miles, 27 kilometers) from Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. This distance places the wreck relatively close to the Whitefish Point area, near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The ship went down in Canadian waters at a depth of roughly 530 feet (161 meters) after reporting difficulty during a severe storm on the night of November 9–10, 1975.