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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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.
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.
“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.
Lake MichiganThe Great Lakes are all water bodies that swimmers should think twice about entering. Lake Michigan in particular is the roughest of the Great Lakes, and poses a major risk to those thinking of taking a dip. This body of water is often named the most dangerous lake in the United States.
The large nature of Lake Superior means that tidal action creates dangerous rip currents that can endanger the lives of swimmers, kayakers, and boaters alike. Rip currents accounted for 20 rescues and 5 fatalities, almost half of the total incidents came from rip currents alone.
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).
Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great LakeBecause 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.
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.
Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great LakeBecause 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.
Lake Michigan wrecks: the oldest and the mostestLake Michigan contains more shipwrecks than any of the other Great Lakes, as well as the oldest recorded one: the French ship Griffon, the first European vessel to sail the Lakes.
The Great Lakes are freshwater ecosystems. Traditionally, Lake Michigan, for example, has been a very low-salt lake, with levels around one milligram of chloride per liter of water. Over the years, due to our increased salt use, that level has steadily but gradually climbed up to 15 milligrams per liter.
Geology of Lake InferiorLake Inferior is an underground lake that is located beneath Lake Superior. It is believed to be formed by a process known as karstification, which is the dissolution of limestone and dolomite rock. This process creates sinkholes, caves, and underground rivers and lakes.
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake in North America (by surface area) and the eleventh-largest worldwide. It is the Great Lakes' southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume. By the 1960s, Lake Erie had become the most polluted of the Great Lakes, owing to the substantial industrial presence along its coasts.
Lake Erie is the shallowest, warmest, and most productive of the Great Lakes. Three distinct basins provide a variety of offshore habitats. The Detroit River, Maumee River, and smaller tributaries drain into the western basin, which averages 24 feet deep and contains extremely nutrient-rich water.
Lake Superior is known for its water clarity, but largely due to quagga mussels in Lakes Michigan and Huron, it's fallen to third place. Lake Superior is cold, deep and clear. But it's no longer the clearest of the Great Lakes.
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.
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.
What would happen if Lake Superior dried up? Without Lake Superior, areas near the lake would see far less snow each winter, and the distribution of snow in the central and eastern regions around the lake would be far different. The effects would not be limited to snow.
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.
That's true for the black beaches of Hawaii, but Black Beach on Lake Superior is not made of naturally occurring black sand. It's made of mining pollution disposed of in the lake. From 1955-1980, Reserve Mining, Northshore Mining's predecessor, pumped its tailings, or waste rock, directly into Lake Superior.