While at times Lake Erie can be flat and calm, as wind blows across Lake Erie's surface, energy is transferred from the wind to the water. This energy generates currents and builds waves.
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The good news is that because Lake Erie is so shallow and turns over every 2.6 years, that it can get healthy pretty fast if the problem sources are reduced/eliminated.
Currents in Lake Erie can be dangerous! Any current flowing faster than 2 mph is considered dangerous. Dangerous currents can exceed 5 mph — faster than an Olympic swimmer can swim. Currents can pull swimmers away from shore.
Lake Michigan's riptide and longshore tides are unparalleled when it comes to danger among all the Great Lakes. In fact, due to its unnaturally strong winds, it's not unusual for this lake to have strong rip currents that can be dangerous for swimmers.
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 Erie scored a good rating in two categories: drinking water and ground water. Swimming, consumption of fish and harmful pollutants are rated as fair.
Lake Erie has a lake retention time of 2.6 years, the shortest of all the Great Lakes. The lake's surface area is 9,910 square miles (25,667 km2). Lake Erie's water level fluctuates with the seasons as in the other Great Lakes.
Although small in volume, Lake Erie is a thriving, productive environment. It has survived challenges brought about by pollution, over-fishing, eutrophication, invasive species and harmful algal blooms.
The cause of the algae bloomsLake Erie's algae blooms are caused by runoff pollution. This type of pollution occurs when rainfall washes fertilizer and manure spread on large farm fields into streams that flow into Lake Erie.
Erie can generally produce waves up to 12 feet high when the wind hits 30 knots. The lakes provide their own challenges to surfers including paddling out in choppy waters, strong onshore winders, and short wave periods of four to five seconds.
In Lake Erie, the hypoxic zone can be as large as 10,000 square kilometers and alters the lake ecosystem from July to October. These low oxygen areas are often referred to as “dead zones,” because many mobile organisms leave the hypoxic zone, and many sessile organisms die without adequate oxygen.
Cyanobacteria blooms (blue-green algae) are a frequent occurrence in the Great Lakes, particularly in Lake Erie, Green Bay, and Saginaw Bay. These blooms may cause fish kills and discolored or foul-smelling water, affecting both human and ecosystem health.
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.
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.
Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by area (31,700 mi2 /82,100 km2). It is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 406 meters (1,332 feet). By most measures, it is the healthiest of all the Great 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.
Though the lake bottoms out at 210 feet, it averages only 62 feet deep. Because of its saucer-like shallowness, Lake Erie has a reputation among sailors of being quick to “kick up her heels,” raising waves of frightening size in even a modest gale.