Porte des Morts, or Death's Door, is the treacherous strait separating the peninsula from the Grand Traverse Islands. French explorers gave it this name after hearing tales of native warriors who perished in its turbulent waters, and the strait became the namesake of the Door Peninsula. According to native legend, the name came from a battle between the Winnebago and Potawatomi in which Potawatomi warriors from the islands were lured by a signal fire set by the Winnebago on this cliff, and warriors from both sides were caught in a storm and dashed to death on the rocks below, though historians believe the story grew over time from a minor event in Indian history. Whatever the truth of the legend, the passage became notorious for shipwrecks, with almost 100 recorded there in 1872 and more sunken ships in these straits than in any other freshwater portal in the world. From 1848 to 1962, lightkeepers and Coast Guardsmen stationed on Plum and Pilot Islands watched over vessels passing through Death's Door and often risked their lives to rescue shipwrecked crew members.