Is Lake Michigan basically an ocean?

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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Scientists might not classify the big lakes as seas, but they often study them as if they were. “The modelers here who work on things like currents and waves and ice use ocean models,” says Lauren Fry, a principal investigator at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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The lakes have more coastline than the East and West coasts combined! While ocean waves are created by distant storm systems, waves on the Great Lakes are formed by localized winds. Thanks to ongoing improvements in wetsuit technology, surfers are now able to comfortably ride lake waves year-round.

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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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“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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However, dangerous currents may exist at any time near piers, breakwalls, and river outlets. Always use caution and never swim alone. A Moderate Swim Risk implies that breaking waves and currents are expected at the beach. Stay away from dangerous areas like piers, breakwalls, and river outlets at these times.

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The lakes have more coastline than the East and West coasts combined! While ocean waves are created by distant storm systems, waves on the Great Lakes are formed by localized winds.

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The blue in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is sediment brought to the surface when strong winds churned the lakes. The green in Lake Erie and in Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay is algae, which builds on the surface when winds are calm.

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Lake Michigan has the longest stretch from north to south of all the Great Lakes, giving it a very diverse climate, which allows for a wide variety of plant and animal species. The lake boasts a variety of natural habitats, including tallgrass prairies, wide savannas, and the world's largest freshwater sand dunes.

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Lake Superior is truly an inland sea. Weather, navigation and buoyage are taken seriously and monitored by federal maritime agencies.

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Dreyer is the only person who has swum the width of Lake Michigan between Wisconsin and Michigan, having swum from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan, in 1998. In the 2023 swim, he was attempting to beat his own record by swimming 25 miles further in the route from Milwaukee to Grand Haven.

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A north-northeast wind has pushed the warmer surface water along the Michigan shore back toward the middle of Lake Michigan and brought up colder water from well beneath the surface. This process is called upwelling.

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The Michigan Supreme Court determined that the public has a right to walk along the shores of the Great Lakes, even on privately-owned land.

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The lake's formation began 1.2 billion years ago when two tectonic plates moving in opposite directions left a giant scar—an event now known as the Midcontinent Rift. Less than 15,000 years ago, melting glaciers filled the giant basin, and Lake Michigan came to be. The lake's maximum depth is 925 feet.

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Lake Superior holds a massive volume of water because of its enormous inland basin and the hundreds of rivers that feed it.

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