Thousands of years later, the landscape of Nunavut Territory—“our land” in the Inuktitut language—still shows the scars of that icy earth mover. Surfaces that were scoured by retreating ice and then flooded by Arctic seas are now dotted with millions of lakes, ponds, and streams.
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It has been 'smoothed' by glaciers during recent ice-ages. These glaciers scraped it pretty clean, so the soil layer is extremely thin. The very same reasons that Minnesota has so many lakes and that the Great Lakes and the Great Salt Lake exist.
However, it's Canada's lakes that are perhaps the most intriguing -- and their sheer number is mindblowing. Out of all the natural lakes in the world larger than 10 hectares, more than 60% are situated in Canada, according to a study from McGill University.
During the last ice age, the mile-thick Laurentide ice sheet covered most of Canada and the northern contiguous United States. The massive weight and movement of this glacier gouged out the earth to form the lake basins. About 20,000 years ago, the climate warmed and the ice sheet retreated.
Alaska has the most naturally formed lakesAlaska is the state with the most naturally formed lakes, containing 3,197 lakes and over 3 million unnamed lakes. Many of the lakes are unnamed because of the size of Alaska and the remote nature of much of the state.
Glacial-fed alpine lakes in the Rocky Mountains are among the clearest in the world. Fine rock dust, produced by massive glaciers rubbing against bedrock, stays suspended in the water, reflecting light and creating the turquoise colours that Moraine Lake and Lake Louise are known for.
As glacial meltwater carries sediments, it creates a suspension in the water, scattering light and causing it to appear blue. The combination of glacial milk and the reflective properties of the suspended rock flour particles results in lakes such as Lake Moraine and Lake Louise exibiting breathtaking shades of blue.
The water in the Great Lakes is owned by the general public according to the Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine is an international legal theory – it applies in both Canada and the United States, so it applies to the entirety of the Great Lakes.
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.
While there have been past “sightings,” most have turned out to be pranks or misidentifications. The reality is that the largest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior and Michigan) are extremely deep lakes that are too cold for sharks.
Canada has more lake area than any other country in the world, with 563 lakes larger than 100 square kilometres. The Great Lakes, straddling the Canada-U.S. boundary, contain 18% of the world's fresh lake water. The country's largest lakes are depicted in the table below.
At 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The depths were first explored thoroughly in 1886 by a party from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory. The state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan Land of 10,000 Lakes.