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great lakes faq, photos, fast facts, and tarvel tips
Above: Map of the Great Lakes
Scroll down for an easy Question and Answer sheet about this stunning yet underrated region of the north midwestern United States. See gorgeous photos, learn fascinating facts, or just brush up quickly for whatever test you may plan on taking.
How large are these lakes? How deep? And how's the fishing over there?
Scroll further down for links to nearby attractions, trip ideas, and quirky little points you may not know about these beautiful Lakes.
great lakes FAQ
What Are The Great Lakes?
America's Great Lakes are five interconnected freshwater lakes that lie between the United States and Canada.
How Many Great Lakes are there?
Altogether, there are five Great Lakes — Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and Lake Superior.
Above: Great Lakes satellite image map from Google
How big are the Great Lakes?
The following chart shows the depths, surface areas, and miles of shoreline for each of the 5 Great Lakes:
NAME MAX DEPTH (ft) SURFACE WATER (sq mi) SHORELINE (approx)
Erie 210 9,910 210 miles
Huron 748 23,000 3,827 miles
Michigan 923 22,300 1,600 miles
Ontario 804 7,340 712 miles
Superior 1,333 31,700 2,726 miles
10 fast facts about the great lakes
1. The Great Lakes contain more than one fifth (21%) of all the surface freshwater on earth.
2. In total, the Great Lakes hold 6 Quadrillion gallons of water! That's enough to immerse the entire US mainland in water 10 feet deep.
3. The total surface area of the Great Lakes is larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire combined!
4. The Great Lakes have a total of more than 10,000 miles of coastline.
5. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake on earth.
6. Lake Michigan is the largest lake that is located entirely within one country.
7. The Great Lakes are bordered by 8 US states — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
8. Major cities surrounding the Great Lakes include Chicago Illinois, Buffalo New York, Cleveland Ohio, Toledo Ohio, Green Bay Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Wisconsin, among others.
9. Primary connecting waterways of the Great Lakes include the Calumet River, the Detroit River, and the Niagara River.
10. Native American (indigenous) people from the Great Lakes region included the Chippewa, the Huron, the Fox, the Iroquois, the Ottawa, the Potawatomi, and Sioux Indians.
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