The area of each rectangle is proportionate to the volume of each lake. New York and Wisconsin's jurisdictions extend into two lakes, and each of the remaining states into one of the lakes.īathymetry Relative elevations, average depths, maximum depths, and volumes of the Great Lakes. Both the province of Ontario and the state of Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of the lakes: The province of Ontario does not border Lake Michigan, and the state of Michigan does not border Lake Ontario. states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada. The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom, while the surface area of the entire basin (the lakes and the land they drain) is about the size of the UK and France combined. There are also several thousand smaller lakes, often called "inland lakes", within the basin. The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers and contain approximately 35,000 islands. From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan, southward to Erie, and finally northward to Lake Ontario. As a chain of lakes and rivers, they connect the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. Though the five lakes lie in separate basins, they form a single, naturally interconnected body of fresh water, within the Great Lakes Basin. Left to right they are: Superior (magenta) Michigan (cyan) Huron (green) Erie (yellow) Ontario (red-orange). Ī map of the Great Lakes Basin showing the five sub-basins. The surrounding region is called the Great Lakes region, which includes the Great Lakes Megalopolis. The lakes have been a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing, serving as a habitat to many aquatic species in a region with much biodiversity. The Great Lakes began to form at the end of the Last Glacial Period around 14,000 years ago, as retreating ice sheets exposed the basins they had carved into the land, which then filled with meltwater. Lake Michigan is the largest lake that is entirely within one country. By surface area, Lake Superior is the second-largest lake in the world, and is the largest freshwater lake. Because of their sea-like characteristics, such as rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons, the five Great Lakes have long been called inland seas. The total surface is 94,250 square miles (244,106 km 2), and the total volume (measured at the low water datum) is 5,439 cubic miles (22,671 km 3), slightly less than the volume of Lake Baikal (5,666 cu mi or 23,615 km 3, 22–23% of the world's surface fresh water). The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area and are second-largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The Great Lakes Waterway enables travel by water among the lakes. Hydrologically, there are four lakes, because lakes Michigan and Huron join at the Straits of Mackinac. They are Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and are in general on or near the Canada–United States border.
Please view the General Questions Megathread before asking a question.The Great Lakes (French: Grands Lacs), also called the Great Lakes of North America or the Laurentian Great Lakes, is a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the upper mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. When the AP week comes, please DO NOT discuss the multiple choice section! However, in accordance with the agreements made with the College Board in regards to the release of the FRQ's, you may discuss them on this site when they are released. Everyone has their own specialties! Help with what you know and get help with what you don't is the golden rule. If you would like to share resources for this purpose, message the moderators first.ĭon't try to one-up each other with scores. College Board and many textbook publishers have and continue to send copyright notices when they are shared here.Īdvertising is not allowed without moderator approval.
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