Why is Lake Superior called Gitche Gumee?

The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi-gami (in syllabics: ????, pronounced gitchi-gami or kitchi-gami in different dialects), meaning great sea. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as Gitche Gumee in the poem The Song of Hiawatha, as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.



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Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes and ranks as the second largest lake in the world (by surface area). Source: Lake Superior Basin statistics map produced by Michigan Sea Grant/Michigan State University Extension (2000).

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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). By most measures, it is the healthiest of all the Great Lakes.

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Located in Russia in the southern region of Siberia, Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by both volume (22995 km3) and depth (1741m). Lake Baikal contains 20% of the world's fresh surface water. Lake Baikal hides its vast waters under a relatively small surface area (31500 km2).

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Lake Superior's beaches are open and safe for swimming over 90% of the time, and the water is extremely clear, with an average underwater visibility of 8.3 m (27 ft).

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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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Although the exact number of shipwrecks on Lake Superior is difficult to track, most historians mark it at about 6,000, although some say it could be upwards of 25,000. Just to the east of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, sits Whitefish Point, the site of the most famous shipwreck of Lake Superior.

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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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The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. Although it is often considered a sea because of its size and salinity, it is technically classified as an endorheic lake. With a surface area of around 371,000 km², the Caspian Sea far exceeds any other lake in terms of size.

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8 Fun Facts About Lake Superior
  • Lake Superior Holds 10% of the Planet's Fresh Water. ...
  • The Lake Covers Over 31,700 Square Miles. ...
  • You Can Really See Your Way Around in the Waters. ...
  • Summer Days are Longer on the Western Shore of Lake Superior. ...
  • The Lake Hardly Ever Freezes Entirely. ...
  • Superior is Full of Surprises.


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The largest and last major freighter wrecked on the lakes was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on November 10, 1975.

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