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What you should know By: OLOYEDE OLADIMEJI

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Post on 19-Dec-2014

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The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario - are a dominant part of the physical and cultural heritage of North America. Shared with Canada and spanning more than 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) from west to east, these vast inland freshwater seas provide water for consumption, transportation, power, recreation and a host of other uses. The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth. Only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water. Lake descriptions Lake Erie the smallest by volume the shallowest warms rapidly in the spring and summer frequently freezes over in winter average depth is only about 62 ft. (19m) The western basin (about 20% of the lake), is very shallow with an average depth of 24 ft. (7.4m) retention time = 2.6 years (a measure based on the volume of water in the lake and the mean rate of outflow) Most of the area around the lake is urban or agricultural. 17 metropolitan areas with populations over 50,000 within the Lake Erie basin Significant effects from urban and agricultural runoff Lake Erie Lakewide Management Plan Lake Huron the third largest by volume vacation homes on the shallow, sandy beaches of Huron and along the rocky shores of Georgian Bay Saginaw River basin is intensively farmed Flint and Saginaw-Bay City metropolitan areas. Saginaw Bay contains a very productive fishery Physical and environmental features Lake Michigan the second largest the only Great Lake entirely within the United States variable climate, population density and development northern part: colder, less developed, sparsely populated southern basin: more temperate, among the most urbanized areas in the Great Lakes system. Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas have about 8 million people, 20% of the total population of the Great Lakes basin Green Bay has one of the most productive Great Lakes fisheries but receives the wastes from the world's largest concentration of pulp and paper mills Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan Lake Ontario second smallest by volume average depth 283 ft. (86m) retention time = 6 years (a measure based on the volume of water in the lake and the mean rate of outflow) urban industrial centers (Hamilton and Toronto) on the Canadian side U.S. shore is less urbanized, not intensively farmed Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan Lake Superior the largest by volume the deepest and coldest retention time = 191 years (a measure based on the volume of water in the lake and the mean rate of outflow) Most of the Superior basin is forested, with little agriculture because of a cool climate and poor soils. Sparse population Relatively few pollutants enter Lake Superior, except through airborne transport Lake Superior Binational Program Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin - the watershed for each lake is in a different color.

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