The country's only freshwater sanctuary will be expanded to around 10 times its current size after earning federal approval.

Thunder Bay in northern Michigan, which holds the part of Lake Huron formerly known as "Shipwreck Alley" due to its scores of sunken ships, will grow from 450 square miles to 4,300 square miles, the Lansing State Journal reported.

The new boundaries will include waters off Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle in the northeastern Lower Peninsula and to the maritime border with Canada.

"The expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary represents an important milestone for the sanctuary and the region," Jeff Gray, sanctuary superintendent, said in a statement. "We welcome the opportunity to expand our research and education programs to provide increased protection for the Great Lakes and their rich history. We are also excited to work with our community partners to further enhance sustainable tourism in the region."

In the works since 2000, the initiative to grow the sanctuary has gone through three failed Congressional bids as well as the administrative review process through the Commerce Department.

The expansion comes after several years of research from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and other science groups, according to the NOAA. The new boundaries will hold around 100 additional shipwreck sites for an estimated 200 sunken ships altogether.

"It's been a long, long effort," Gray told the Lansing State Journal. "It's a pretty monumental thing ... In a small way we raise the Great Lakes into this national dialogue."

Thunder Bay was called Shipwreck Alley in the 19th century, when it was part of a major shipping route that saw wrecks including the 1913 sinking of a coal carrier named the Isaac M. Scott. In another historic wreck, the New Orleans hit a reef during a foggy night in 1849; its 300 passengers and sailors were rescued.

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