Why is Lake Michigan so polluted?

Chemicals, toxic pollutants, pesticides and heavy metals entered the Great Lakes; they flowed from thousands of factory discharge pipes and sewage plants, seeped from dumping and disposal sites, escaped from smokestacks, and ran off millions of acres of cities and farmland from states surrounding the lakes.



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Not only is this lake massive - spanning 307 miles in either direction - but its shores also run parallel, causing unique wave shapes. The shapes of these waves are what contribute to rip tides, which are one of the most dangerous things swimmers can encounter in the water.

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Lake Michigan is generally clean and safe for swimming but it can become contaminated with harmful bacteria.

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Lake Michigan in particular is the roughest of the Great Lakes, and poses a major risk to those thinking of taking a dip.

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The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 metres or 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes.

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The most polluted Great Lake is Lake Erie.

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According to the article, the most dangerous creature in Michigan lakes is the Sea Lamprey. I has a round, sucker-like mouth and really harsh, sharp teeth put together in circular rows.

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Lake Erie is the most polluted lake in Michigan and the fourth largest of the Great Lakes.
  • This aerial view reveals oil-contaminated water pollution being released into Lake Erie from the steel mills in Nanticoke. ...
  • Beavers have thick brown fur, short front legs, and big webbed back feet, making them good swimmers.


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Sediment, dissolved plant bits, tiny photosynthesizing plankton — they all influence the dance between light and water. So does the angle that sunlight hits the water or the presence of clouds overhead. It seems like every time you look at Lake Michigan, it's a different color.

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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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Swimmers didn't find it too appealing, but it was popular for those who wanted to fish for trout. However, an analysis of satellite images between 1998 and 2012 showed that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are now clearer than Lake Superior, which had always been the clearest of the Great Lakes in the past.

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Lake Michigan, the third largest by surface area (22,300 square miles) and second largest by volume (1,180 cubic miles), is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States.

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11 Most Beautiful Lakes in the United States
  • Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming.
  • Lake Superior, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
  • Flathead Lake, Montana.
  • Crater Lake, Oregon.
  • Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada.
  • Caddo Lake, Texas and Louisiana.
  • Mono Lake, California.
  • Echo Lake, New Hampshire.


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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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