The ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm on Lake Superior on 10 November 1975, with the loss of all 29 crew. When launched in 1958 it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes, and it remains the largest to have sunk there. For 17 years it carried taconite, a form of iron ore, from Minnesota's Iron Range to steel mills in cities such as Detroit and Toledo, setting haul records. The wreck was found in deep water four days later and had broken into two large pieces. The cause has been debated, with theories ranging from flooding through hatches to hitting a shoal.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.