Page 7 - 2020 Comprehension Readings

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror
The infamous Franklin Expedition that was held to discover the Northwest Passage led to more than one shipwreck. The two ships involved (the H MS Erebus and HMSTerror) wereabandonedbytheircrewswhentheybecame ice bound in 1845. Following this event, the entire crew got lost and recent anthropological studies concluded that the men died of pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lead poisoning from badly soldered tin cans. Parks Canada has since organized five expeditions to look for the wrecks, but nothing has been found. The two ships are designated by Parks Canada as a national historic site, making them the only non-discovered national historic site in the country.
HMS Investigator
Anindirectc asualty oftheFranklinExpedition,theI nvestigator wassentto search for Sir John Franklin and his men in 1848. The boat made two voyages to the Arctic but it was abandoned in 1853 after becoming trapped in the ice. In July 2010 Parks Canada discovered the wreck buried in silt , 150 metres off of the north shore of Banks Island.
Titanic
Perhaps the most famous of all shipwrecks, the Titanic’ s bow can be found just off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, technically putting the wreck in Canadian waters. The boat sunk in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, and if you don’t know anything else about the Titanic, well, there was a little movie made about it in 1997 as well.
RMS Empress of Ireland
This ocean liner sank in the Saint Lawrence River in 1914 after colliding with a Norwegian coal ship. The ship sank in 14 minutes and claimed the lives of morethanathousandpeople.Overtheyearsmany salvaged ivershave visited the wreck, retrieving everything from mail to a brass bell. In 1999 the wreck was added to Canada’s list of historic sites to prevent treasure hunters from continuing to pillage the site.
Gr. 5 Oral Comprehension Readings 7