Taken from the Army Corps of Engineers handout
- Four of the Great Lakes are in both the United States and Canada: Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario. Only Lk Michigan is entirely in the US.
- The Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world's fresh surface water - that is about six quadrillion gallons of water! 21% of earth's fresh water.
- They contain 250 species of fish.
- The connected waterways of the Great Lakes are America's largest inland water transportation unit. They allow shipping to reach the Atlantic Ocean via the St Lawrence River, and to reach the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois Waterway, from the Michigan to the Mississippi River.
- If all the water in the Great Lakes was spread evenly across the United States, the entire country would be covered in over 9.5 feet of water.
- Mnemonic = HOMES
Lk Superior
*largest of the Great Lakes
*ranks as the largest lake by surface area in the world
*contains 10% of earth's fresh water
*waves have reached more than 20 ft
Lk Huron
*2nd largest Great Lake
*4th largest lake in the world
*there are more than 30,000 islands in the lake
Lk Michigan
*3rd largest Great Lake
*5th largest lake in the world
*because of its shape the water flows slowly remaining for ~99 yrs
Lk Erie
*4th largest Great Lake
*the shallowest & warmest Great Lake
*wind can have an affect on water levels from the east to west
Lk Ontario
*5th largest
*smallest surface area of any Great Lake
*the oldest lighthouse on the US Great Lakes
Learn more at www.lre.usace.army.mil
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