Michigan Creek is a small watershed that drains the coast mountains on Vancouver Island in the temperate rainforest of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and enters the Pacific Ocean about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Pachena Point Light Station, and 8.5 miles (14 km) southeast of Bamfield, British Columbia. The creek was named after the vessel Michigan that wrecked here 1893.

Michigan was a steam-powered lumber schooner of 566 tons, one of 225 known schooners similar to the Wapama that served the lumber trade and other coastal services along the Pacific Coast between San Francisco and Puget Sound. Michigan was built at Skamokawa, Washington by Ludwig Mortensen for William M. Colwell and George L. Colwell. She had a lumber capacity of 400,000 board feet. On January 21st, 1893, Michigan was heading to Puget Sound and encountered the strong northerly current along this coast and overran the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The error was not known by the crew and the vessel was turned east and went aground on the reefs and ledges of Vancouver Island. The sea conditions were relatively calm and the 22 crew and 4 passengers managed to get ashore after daylight. The crew was able to retrieve a boat from the shipwreck and reach Neah Bay for help, a distance of 33 miles (53 km).

In August 1893, the Mascotte was sent to salvage what remained of the Michigan shipwreck. Mascotte was built in Victoria, British Columbia by Smith and Warner for J.C. Prevost and was outfitted with a crane and machinery for heavy salvage. Mascotte was working on recovering cargo and valuable equipment from the sunken Michigan, and while at anchor in Pachena Bay, caught fire and burned to the waterline. The crew managed to escape the burning wreck and hike to the Cape Beale light station. Read more here and here. Explore more of Michigan Creek here: