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Was Lake Michigan ever salt water?

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.



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Because of their sea-like characteristics, such as rolling waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths, and distant horizons, the five Great Lakes have long been called inland seas.

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Safe for Swimming? The answer is, it depends. Under the right conditions, Lake Michigan is safe for swimming. But this lake can also present dangerous, even deadly, conditions for swimmers.

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The answer is yes, our Great Lakes do have tides that occur twice each day, but they are much smaller in scale and barely noticeable unlike the ocean.

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The Great Lakes are not (noticeably) salty because water flows into them as well as out of them, carrying away the low concentrations of minerals in the water, writes Michael Moore of Toronto. Eventually, this water, with its small load of dissolved minerals or salts, reaches the sea.

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Lake Ladoga, Russian Ladozhskoye Ozero or Ladozhskoe Ozero, largest lake in Europe, located in northwestern Russia about 25 miles (40 km) east of St. Petersburg.

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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 Michigan: No more than 1 MI serving per month. Portage Lake in Houghton County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Gull Lake in Kalamazoo County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Higgins Lake in Roscommon County: No more than 4 MI servings per month.

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The Great Lakes are an abundant source of fresh drinking water; with proper treatment, that water is safe to enjoy.

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