The Great Lakes of North America are a unique natural system consisting of five large lakes connected to each other by rivers and straits. Which lakes are honored to be called great, what is the history of their origin, and where they are located we will find out in this article.

General information

The Great Lakes are located on the territory of two countries: Canada and the United States of America. They belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, and the occupied area is 245.2 thousand square meters. km. with a water volume of 22671 cubic meters. km. This water system includes five major freshwater lakes and numerous very small lakes and rivers.

Rice. 1. Great Lakes.

In terms of area, the Great Lakes are approximately 7.5 times larger than even Lake Baikal. Despite this, Baikal holds more water, which indicates the shallow depth of the Great Lakes. The average depth of Lake Baikal is 744 meters, and the depth of the North American Pearl is 147 meters.

Great Lakes include:

  • Lake Superior;
  • Lake Huron;
  • Lake Michigan;
  • Lake Erie;
  • Lake Ontario.

All lakes are connected by rivers, canals and straits and together form a unique water system that exists only in North America.

Origin story

The Great Lakes system began 12 thousand years ago, when the territory of modern North America was covered with ice. Under the influence of tectonic processes, depressions were formed - pits, which were gradually filled with fresh water. Where did the water come from? The fact is that the climate gradually changed and the mainland became warmer. The ice melted, and the resulting water filled the depressions, thereby forming lakes.

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Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world by area; the other lakes of the studied water system are completely “baby” in comparison with it. It got its name because of its location. It is located 186 meters above sea level. The lake is located simultaneously in Canada and the United States. The St. Marys River flows from this lake.

Rice. 2. Lake Superior.

What unites the Canadian province of Ontario and one of the American states of Michigan? Both territories have access to Lake Huron. This lake is unique in that it is connected to Superior, Michigan, and Erie via the St. Marys River, Straits of Mackinac, and Detroit River, respectively. The lake is also located in both Canada and the USA.

Rice. 3. Lake Huron.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan ranks fourth on the list of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. Its peculiarity is that it is located exclusively in the United States. All other “Great Five” lakes occupy space in both the United States and Canada. Scientists often do not separate Huron and Michigan into separate lakes, but rather view them as a single entity. After all, they are on the same level and connected by a deep strait.

In the language of the Indians who originally lived on these lands, the name mishigami translates as “big water.”

Lake Erie

Most of Lake Erie is located in the United States; in Canada, it washes the shores of the province of Ontario. It is connected to Lake Ontario by the Niagara River. It is in the bed of this river that the world famous Niagara Falls. The lake is not deep at all compared to the others; the water in it warms up well, which contributes to the reproduction of many species of fish.

Lake Ontario

The last lake in the Great Lakes is Lake Ontario. It is the smallest in this water system. Its area is 20 thousand sq. km. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River. Because Atlantic Ocean is very close, the water in the lake almost never freezes.

There are about 5 million lakes in the world, but we have only heard about a few of the largest ones. Do you think that Baikal is the most big lake in the world? In fact, Baikal takes only 7th place in the ranking of the largest lakes!

Did you know that the area of ​​the largest lake on the planet is equal to the area of ​​52 million football fields and is comparable to the area of ​​Moscow multiplied by 150 times? No? Then read below!

No. 10. Great Slave Lake - 28,930 square kilometers. North America.

Great Slave Lake is the 10th largest lake in the world in terms of area, and it is also the most deep lake in North America. Its depth is 614 meters. The dimensions of Great Slave Lake are 480 km long, 19-109 km wide, and an area of ​​28,930 square kilometers.

From October to June the lake is frozen; in winter the ice can support the weight of trucks. Rivers flowing into the lake: Hay, Slave, Snowdrift, etc. The Mackenzie River flows out of the lake. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.





No. 9. Lake Nyasa - 30,044 square kilometers. East Africa.

Lake Nyasa (Malawi) is the ninth largest lake in the world by area. Lake Nyasa fills a crack in the earth's crust in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, located between Mozambique and Tanzania. The length of the lake is 560 km, depth - 706 m. Nyasa contains 7% of the world's reserves of liquid fresh water.

Nyasa is known for its rich ecosystem, many of the species found in the lake are endemic. The origin of the lake is tectonic.





No. 8. Great Bear Lake - 31,080 square kilometers. Canada.

Great Bear Lake is located 200 km south of the Arctic Circle in Canada. The lake ranks eighth in area in the world and fourth in North America. Dimensions of the lake: length - 320 km, width - 175 km, maximum depth- 446 m.

The lake has not much good story. Uranium was found here. It was from here that uranium was mined to make the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lake is almost always covered with ice; the ice rarely melts before the end of July. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.





No. 7. Lake Baikal - 31,500 square kilometers. Eastern Siberia.

Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, the largest water reservoir, which contains 20% of the world's liquid fresh water reserves. Baikal is also considered one of the cleanest lakes in the world.

The lake ranks seventh in area in the world and first in volume. Dimensions of the lake: length - 636 km, width - 80 km, maximum depth - 1642 m, volume - 23,600 km3.
The origin of the lake is tectonic, its age is more than 25 million years. The fauna of Lake Baikal is one of the most unique in the world; many species are endemic.

No. 6. Lake Tanganyika - 32,893 square kilometers. Central Africa.

Lake Tanganyika is one of the most deep lakes in the world, along with Lake Baikal. The lake lies between 4 countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi.

Dimensions of the lake: length - 676 ​​km, width - 72 km, maximum depth - 1470 m, volume - 18,900 km3. The origin of the lake is tectonic.

Tanganyika lies in Africa's deepest tectonic basin and is part of the Congo River basin, one of the largest rivers in the world.





No. 5. Lake Michigan - 58,016 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Michigan is one of the Great Lakes. This lake is the largest lake located entirely within the United States. Michigan is the fifth largest in the world and the third largest among the Great Lakes. The volume of the lake is 4918 m3, length - 494 km, width - 190 km, maximum depth - 281 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.





No. 4. Lake Huron - 59,596 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Huron is one of the Great Lakes. This lake is located on the territory of two countries: the USA and Canada. Huron is the fourth largest lake in the world. The volume of the lake is 3538 m3, length - 331 km, width - 295 km, maximum depth - 229 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.




No. 3. Lake Victoria - 69,485 square kilometers. East Africa.

Lake Victoria is located in Tanzania and Kenya. With the construction of the Owen Falls Dam in 1954, the lake was converted into a reservoir. There are many islands on the lake. Fishing is developed on the lake and there are many ports in three countries. A national park has been established on the island of Rubondo (Tanzania).

Victoria is the third largest lake in the world. The volume of the lake is 2760 m3, length - 320 km, width - 274 km, maximum depth - 80 m. The origin of the lake is tectonic.

The lake was discovered and named in honor of Queen Victoria by British traveler John Henning Speke in 1858.

No. 2. Lake Superior - 82,414 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Superior is the second largest in the world and the largest among the Great Lakes, located on the border of the United States and Canada. The volume of the lake is 12,000 m3, length - 563 km, width - 257 km, maximum depth - 406 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

Etymology of the name. In the Ojibwe language, the lake is called Gichigami, which means “big water.”





No. 1. Caspian Sea - 371,000 square kilometers. Europe Asia.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth, which is classified as the largest lake or sea due to its size. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Volume - 78,200 m3, length - 1200 km, width - 435 km, maximum depth - 1025 m. Length coastline The Caspian Sea is approximately 6500 kilometers.

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, the largest of them are the Volga, Terek, Sulak, Ural, Kura, Artek, etc. The Caspian Sea washes the shores of Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
The origin of the lake is oceanic.





The Great Lakes are the largest accumulation of fresh water on Earth (22.7 thousand sq. km). The system includes five bodies of water: Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. The Great Lakes have long been used as natural waterways, even though travel along them was fraught with danger.

Today, the bottom of the Great Lakes is literally covered with the skeletons of ships that were once shipwrecked in their waters. Among local diving enthusiasts, even a special trend has emerged - wreck diving, during which divers find and explore sunken ships.

We are accustomed to the fact that most shipwrecks occur in the ocean. Disasters are usually caused by storms, icebergs and coral reefs. However, those who live near the Great Lakes are no strangers to storms, mysterious waves, and even... their own “version” of the Flying Dutchman.

Storms on big lakes- a phenomenon of the same order as storms on small seas. But they are much less often reported in newspapers, and only a few, the most outstanding disasters make it into the news pages of major newspapers. According to the latest data provided by American divers, between six and ten thousand shipwrecked ships rest at the bottom of the Great Lakes. Every year this list is replenished with a dozen discovered ships. About every fifth person can be identified - water and time do not spare anyone logbooks, no buildings.

The story of one of these ships, lost during a storm in 1912 and discovered sixty years later, formed the basis of the musical “The Christmas Schooner.” The fact is that the main cargo of the ship was Christmas trees. In vain the residents eagerly awaited the arrival of the holiday cargo - the Christmas trees remained at the bottom of the lake, bringing no joy to anyone. For a long time, the schooner was listed as missing in action until it was discovered by scuba divers.

Another story is completely mystical. They readily tell it to tourists. On September 18, 1679, the ship "Griffon", owned by the French traveler Rene Robert, Chevalier de La Salle, was supposed to arrive in Niagara (New York). This ship was built here, and it was well known local residents. When it became clear that the Griffon was delayed, at first no one attached much importance to it - ships were often several hours behind schedule. But since the ship did not appear either after a day or a week, it became clear that another shipwreck had occurred. There were no witnesses to the tragedy that took place on the Griffon; it simply disappeared without a trace. Its wreckage was discovered and identified only in 1955. But this is far from the strangest thing. Many strangers claim that on foggy nights the Griffon is often seen sailing silently across Lake Huron. At night it is impossible to see all the details of its equipment, but the outline of the vessel is easily recognizable.

The Great Lakes have become accustomed to such ghost ships. Mentions of them are found in chronicles dating back to the middle of the 17th century. For example, in New Haven (Connecticut) in 1648, many people simultaneously saw a ghost ship. Moreover, he not only sailed by, but showed the amazed spectators the scene of a shipwreck. This extraordinary event was interpreted as a sign sent by God, shedding light on the mystery of the death of one of the missing ships. However, those who have encountered ghost ships note that they quite often depict scenes of their crash, repeating them at every meeting with observers.

If in the distant 17th century. The appearance of ghosts and mysterious shipwrecks were explained by the play of supernatural forces; today scientists have taken on the solution to this phenomenon. There were plenty of hypotheses.

The most rational researchers explained what happened as storms of enormous force. They still happen today - for example, in 2003, a storm erupted over the Great Lakes, accompanied by snow and rain. The wind speed reached 100 km/h. The disaster destroyed hundreds of buildings and left more than one and a half million people without electricity. Of course, modern communications helped transmit the storm warning to everyone in the area, so only two people died. But two or three centuries ago, ship captains had to rely only on omens. Hurricanes and storms on the Great Lakes are many attributed to the influence of El Niño (El Nino in Spanish - “Christ the Child”). This is a warm seasonal surface current in the eastern part Pacific Ocean appears at intervals of two to seven years and has an adverse effect on the climate. Hurricanes, tornadoes and storms caused by El Niño are extremely powerful and unpredictable. However, not in all cases the loss of ships occurred due to a storm.

The Indians living on the coast of the Great Lakes have preserved many ancient legends, which are based on real facts. In particular, local tribes are well aware of one thing natural phenomenon, which has still remained almost unexplored - “Three Sisters”. “Three Sisters” are three huge waves that completely unexpectedly appear on the smooth surface of the lake and rush towards the shore, sweeping away everything in their path. The legends of the Chippeza tribe explain the appearance of the “Three Sisters” by the movement of a giant sturgeon, supposedly living in the Great Lakes. Modern Americans are also familiar with this phenomenon, but they call it “session,” which means “level fluctuations.” On June 26, 1954, the session hit the shoreline of Lake Michigan between the cities of Whiting (Indiana) and Wakegen (Illinois), destroying dozens of buildings and killing 50 people, of whom 8 drowned. Many of the fishermen sat calmly on the shore of the lake with their fishing rods. The weather was beautiful and the lake looked completely calm. Suddenly, a water shaft about three meters high collapsed onto the shore. It happened so unexpectedly that no one had time to escape.

A similar phenomenon was observed on Lake Superior. Jay Gawley, who wrote a book about the mysteries of the Great Lakes, described the disaster that occurred with the Sames E. Davidson cargo ship with a displacement of six thousand tons. If the disappearance of ships that plied the waters of the Great Lakes in the 17th century can be explained by their technical imperfections and the lack of meteorological service, then the death of a modern cargo ship seems inexplicable. The wave effortlessly destroyed a ship that could withstand an ocean storm. Its power must be colossal! The wind, no matter how strong, could not impart such energy to the wave. Where then do such waves on the Great Lakes come from? The most likely version seems to be that the “Three Sisters” and similar phenomena were caused by tremors. In this case, both the sudden formation of waves and their amazing energy are easily explained. But if this were really the case, then seismic stations in the USA and Canada would easily compare data on tremors with the frequency of occurrence of huge waves. The Great Lakes phenomenon would be explained, even predicted, based on seismic activity data. However, there is no direct correspondence between earthquakes and waves.

Even more mysterious, planes are disappearing over the Great Lakes. There was no way a three-meter wave could knock them down! But the fact remains that there are many more plane crashes over lakes than over the rest of the surrounding area. This area is gradually gaining fame anomalous zone, no less famous than the Bermuda Triangle.

Among the hypotheses explaining the “strange behavior” of lakes, there are the most incredible. In particular, ufologists are convinced that anomalous phenomena are either caused by aliens or are the object of their interest. According to Jay Gawley, observers over the Great Lakes have repeatedly noticed strange objects, capable of moving completely silently and possessing extreme maneuverability. In this regard, it was suggested that in the Great Lakes region there is a kind of “gate” through which aliens enter our world. Their use creates a disturbance in nature, as a result of which huge waves appear on the lake, and planes lose control and fall.

Scientists believe that the myth of flying saucers is of the same dubious value as the Indian legends about the giant sturgeon. In any case, attempts to explain the inexplicable should be based on facts, and not on blind faith in the existence of “brothers in mind.” However, we must admit that modern science is able to explain only part of the phenomena observed on the Great Lakes. In particular, according to experts, the main culprits of shipwrecks are not mythical aliens or even the “Three Sisters,” but the most common storm waves. The fact is that lakes, no matter how large they are, are still much smaller than the ocean. That's why the storm waves are different there. Long and relatively gentle waves are formed in the oceans, which only rock ships. Only those ships that find themselves in close proximity to the shore are at risk. They may wash up on rocks or reefs. It is no coincidence that captains, having received a storm warning, took their ships out to the open sea. In large lakes and small seas, a different effect is observed: the waves there are short and very steep. They are capable of not only rocking the ship, but also turning it over. This insidious property of storms on lakes is well known to everyone who sails on the Caspian Sea, Baikal and Lake Ladoga.

But the appearance of ghosts of sunken ships and the disappearance of planes so far has absolutely no scientific explanation. Perhaps these phenomena are somehow related to geological structure district. But it will still be a long time before the mystery of the Great Lakes is solved.

America's Great Lakes: Unique Freshwater Mirrors

Lakes are often called the pearls of the Earth. There are hundreds of thousands of them on our planet: completely different, large and small, tropical and subpolar. Each of them has its own peculiarity, its own, albeit small, secret. Among this great diversity there is a scattering of lakes known throughout the world, which are truly the adornment of the entire continent. These are the Great American Lakes.

The North American continent is unthinkable without them

This unique system of lakes is located on the border of the United States and Canada. Even an attempt to describe them turns, in essence, into a listing of records. Most reference books inform you that the system consists of the “magnificent five”: lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. Sometimes Lake St. Clair is added to them, although it is much smaller in area.

There is one more feature. Lakes Huron and Michigan are connected not just by rivers, like all other lakes in the system, but by a wide strait. In addition, their surface level is absolutely the same. Based on this, strictly hydrographically, this pair should be considered one body of water, but such an approach is inconvenient in an economic sense, and it contradicts, so to speak, the established folk habit.

The Great Lakes are amazing in their scale. Their total area is slightly more than 244 thousand km², the volume of water is 22,671 km³. Hydrologists estimate that the Great Lakes basin contains 18% of the world's fresh water. And how can one not compare them with the pearl of Russia, Lake Baikal! It is approximately 7.5 times smaller in area, but there is even slightly more water in Baikal than in the Great Lakes - 24% of the world's freshwater reserves!

The comparison, in particular, clearly shows that despite its enormous area, the Great Lakes are relatively shallow. Indeed, the largest among them, Verkhneye, has an average depth of only 147 meters (at Baikal it is 744 meters).

The northern shores of the lakes are predominantly wooded, sparsely populated, suitable for recreation and tourism. Along southern shores A network of important industrial centers emerged.

All lakes are connected to each other by rivers and narrow straits. Several hundred rivers flow into them, but they are all small and of local importance. Only one leaks from the system big river- St. Lawrence. It carries fresh water from the lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

The water flow in this river significantly exceeds the amount that flows into lakes with small rivers. The fact is that the nutrition of giants occurs mainly due to underground sources and atmospheric precipitation.

The relief of the continent in the place where the lakes are located has a general slope from north to south. Thus, the northernmost of the giants, Lake Superior, also has the highest altitude above sea level. The further south you go, the level of the next lake is slightly lower. The greatest difference is between lakes Erie and Ontario: between them flows the Niagara track with its world-famous waterfall.

The lakes are incredibly rich in fish; they are a real Klondike for fishing lovers. It is estimated that the Great Lakes are home to 174 species of fish!

History of the Great Lakes System of America

Geologists have determined that the Great Lakes system was formed, by historical standards, quite recently, about 12 thousand years ago. At that time, almost the entire surface of North America was covered with a thick layer of ice, apparently reaching at least a kilometer. The mass of ice pressed through the earth's crust, forming unique lenses. These lenses gradually deepened under the influence of the glacier: it raked out their bottom like a gigantic bulldozer.

When the ice age on the planet ended, the mass of ice melted, and some of its waters ended up in depressions, as if trapped. This is how what is now called the Great American Lakes was formed. By studying the chemical composition of fossils, scientists came to the conclusion that in ancient times the water temperature in the lakes was much lower than now.

The amount of water reserves in the lake system is slowly but steadily decreasing. However, this trend is observed throughout the planet.

Brief description of the Great Lakes of America

Each of the Great American Lakes is unique and worthy of its own long description. Only the most general information can be listed here.

Lake Superior

Even among such gigantic bodies of water it is gigantic! Suffice it to say that the volume of water in the lake is approximately equal to the total volume in the remaining four lakes of the “Big Five”. Among his records the following should be mentioned:

  • The largest freshwater lake on the planet by area;
  • Deepest among the Great Lakes;
  • The northernmost in this group, and the most elevated relative to the World Ocean - 186 m above its level;
  • During storms, the wave height here exceeds 10 meters.

The upper one is located mostly in Canada, its northern shores are usually rocky and covered with forests, while its southern shores are flat and sandy. The St. Marys River flows from it and flows into Huron. It washes the states of Minnesota and Michigan.

Lake Huron

The coastline of Lake Huron is incredibly rugged and is more than 6 thousand km long! (For comparison, from Moscow to Madrid is only 3440 km). As already mentioned, the lake is connected to Lake Michigan by the wide (3 km wide) Strait of Mackinac.

It is characteristic that Huron has about 30 thousand islands, among them the largest is Manitoulin Island. It is notable at least for the fact that it bears the title of the largest island on earth located in a freshwater lake. The state of Luxembourg would fit on it, and there would still be some free space left. There are also lakes on Manitoulin, among them the large one - Manitou. And that’s not all “matryoshka”, Manitou has its own islands with lakes!

The average depth of Huron is 59 meters. It washes the American state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Lake Michigan

Of all the Great Lakes, it is the only one located exclusively in the United States. Its average depth is 85 meters, the length of the coastline is over 1.5 thousand km. The lake is covered with ice for several months of the year. The reservoir suffers from industrial load, because such a large city as Chicago is located in close proximity. In recent decades, the country's authorities have been doing a lot to improve the environmental picture in Michigan, and there has been great success in this direction.

Lake Erie

It extends from southwest to northeast for 390 km. The average depth is 19 meters. It is mainly located in the USA, but also enters the Canadian province of Ontario. Due to its shallow depth, the waters of the lake warm up well, so there is excellent fishing here, as well as many farms engaged in breeding fry. However, the lake also has so-called “dead zones” associated with phosphorite pollution. These zones have been significantly reduced over the past 20 years. Also, the banks of the Erie are famous for their vineyards, because the climate here is milder than in places of similar latitude, but distant from the water.

Lake Ontario

Smallest in area among the Big Five, with average depth 86 meters. It closes the entire system, dumping water into the Atlantic. Largest cities in the surrounding areas - Toronto, Kingston and Rochester. The proximity of the ocean and shallow depth mean that the lake never freezes, and there are almost no storms here. There are many nature reserves on the coast, places for organized family vacation; It’s not for nothing that the lake’s name is translated from the Huron Indian language as “beautiful.”

Interesting facts about America's Great Lakes

The entire system of the American Great Lakes is a huge network of canals, rivers, and shipping routes, the total length of which exceeds 3 thousand km. Lakes provide jobs and water for tens of millions of people. The total length of the coastline of the unique lake system is about 18 thousand km, which significantly exceeds the length of the US land border!

It is noteworthy that on lakes, especially the largest ones, storms with huge waves often occur. It is estimated that over the past two centuries, over 600 ships have sank in the waters of the “five”!

During World War II, American pilots used the Great Lakes to practice takeoffs and landings on aircraft carriers. 18 thousand pilots completed training, and about 300 planes were sunk!

Quite mystical is the obscure phenomenon when on lakes, in completely calm, windless weather, giant waves rise and hit the shores with crushing force. The Indians called this phenomenon “three sisters.” Scientific explanations boil down to the fact that the bottom of lakes at times experiences sharp fluctuations. The mystery remains that the surrounding seismic stations do not record any tremors.

Entire books could be written about the Great American Lakes. They were the cradle for many Indian tribes, and the first European settlements were formed around them. And now these natural pearls have become indispensable for two great powers, the USA and Canada, successfully fitting into their economy and culture, being an adornment of the entire continent, and in essence, the heritage of the entire planet.