Login form
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are so large, you could easily see them if you stood on the Moon! They’re the world’s largest group of freshwater lakes, and they’re found in North America.
Five lakes make up the Great Lakes. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario.
WHERE ARE THE GREAT LAKES?
The Great Lakes are located in the eastern half of North America along the United States-Canadian border. The lakes are a part of both countries and are shared by both. Only Lake Michigan lies entirely within the United States.
Eight American states border the lakes to the south. They are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The big Canadian province of Ontario is on the north side of the lakes.
Four of North America’s largest cities are located on the edge of the Great Lakes. They are Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and Cleveland.
HOW DID THE GREAT LAKES FORM?
Huge glaciers moving over the land dug out the Great Lakes. The glaciers melted away about 10,000 years ago. Before the glaciers came, the area now covered by the lakes was made up of plains, broad valleys, and rivers.
HOW BIG ARE THEY?
The five lakes cover an area 94,250 square miles (244,100 square kilometers). That makes them larger than the states of Indiana and Illinois combined! All together, the lakes hold about 20 percent of all the fresh water on the Earth’s surface.
Lake Superior is the biggest of the Great Lakes. In fact, it’s the world’s largest body of fresh water. It is 350 miles (560 kilometers) long and it reaches a depth of 1,332 feet (406 meters). Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes.
SHIPPING AND RECREATION ON THE GREAT LAKES
The five Great Lakes are linked by rivers and canals. These allow ships to sail from lake to lake. The St. Lawrence River provides an outlet for large vessels to the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Lakes, together with the St. Lawrence River, form one of the most important inland waterway systems in the world.
Today, the Great Lakes are among the world’s busiest shipping routes. Farms, factories, and businesses ship iron ore, coal, grain, steel, automobiles, and other goods across the lakes and beyond.
The Great Lakes are also popular for recreation. There are thousands of homes and cabins on the shores. Millions of people flock to the lakes in the summer to water-ski, sail, fish, and swim.
Source: Microsoft ® Encarta
