Do the Great Lakes feel like an ocean?

From some vantage points, the Great Lakes feel more like vast inland seas than freshwater lakes. But the 6 quadrillion gallons (~23 quadrillion liters) sloshing in Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie represent one fifth of the planet's fresh water.



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The United States Environmental Protection Agency, for example, describes them as “vast inland freshwater seas.” A seminal 2017 paper in Limnology and Oceanography, authored by some of the most influential researchers studying the lakes, also refers to them as 'inland seas.

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As the world's largest fresh water lake, Superior is in a class of its own. It's a national treasure. It feels and looks like an ocean with seemingly endless boundaries and possibilities.

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Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes by surface area and volume. It is like a mini-freshwater ocean, you can't even see the other side from the Wisconsin shoreline.

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“The waves hit you every three to five seconds in the Great Lakes, where in the ocean it might be 10 to 12 seconds between waves,” said Guy Meadows, a Michigan senior research scientist.

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These lakes are the perfect backdrop for swimming, boating, and other water-related activities. But there can be more danger in these Great Lakes waves than what you'd find in the ocean. The Great Lakes are more than capable of generating waves over 10 feet high, despite being smaller than our oceans.

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So you know how when you go for a dip in the ocean and you come out covered in salt crust and with the distinct stench of rotting seaweed? Yeah, that doesn't happen in the Great Lakes. The water may be colder, but it's wonderfully clean.

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Lake Superior's beaches are open and safe for swimming over 90% of the time, and the water is extremely clear, with an average underwater visibility of 8.3 m (27 ft).

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Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great Lake Because of its somewhat isolated location and long cold winters, not much farming is done along Superior's shores. This means lower amounts of nutrients, sediments, and organic material are floating around the lake.

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Lake Superior is generally calm and easily paddled between early June and mid-August. Mornings tend to be best for paddling, but it is not unusual to have a glassy calm for days on end.

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Lawrence Seaway is a deep draft waterway extending 3,700 km (2,340 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean to the head of the Great Lakes, in the heart of North America.

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True tides—changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon—do occur in a semi-diurnal (twice daily) pattern on the Great Lakes. Studies indicate that the Great Lakes spring tide, the largest tides caused by the combined forces of the sun and moon, is less than five centimeters in height.

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Drinking Water - State of the Great Lakes. The 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement states that “the Waters of the Great Lakes should be a source of safe, high quality drinking water”. Approximately 8.5 million Canadians and 19.5 million Americans get their drinking water from the surface waters of the Great Lakes.

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Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh water.

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Lake Superior in a nutshell: The world's largest lake by surface area. The largest of the Great Lakes. Contains more water than all four other Great Lakes combined. Water flows from Lake Superior out to Lake Huron.

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