Lake Michigan-Huron
| Lake Michigan-Huron | |
|---|---|
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| The Great Lakes from space; the two-lobed Lake Michigan-Huron lies in the center. | |
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| Map highlighting Lake Michigan-Huron. | |
| Location | United States, Canada |
| Group | Great Lakes |
| Lake type | Glacial |
| Primary inflows | St. Marys River |
| Primary outflows | St. Clair River |
| Basin countries | United States, Canada |
| Surface area | 45,410 sq mi (117,600 km2) |
| Max. depth | 922 ft (281 m) |
| Water volume | 2,029 cu mi (8,460 km3) |
| Residence time | 100 years |
| Shore length1 | 5,463 mi (8,792 km) |
| Surface elevation | 577 ft (176 m) |
| Settlements | Milwaukee, Chicago, Cheboygan, Port Huron |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Michigan-Huron is geologically the largest of the North American Great Lakes. Traditionally considered to be two separate lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, it is hydrologically a single body of water connected at the Straits of Mackinac.
The straits are 5 miles (8 km) wide and 120 feet (37 m) deep,[1] small in comparison to the body of water as a whole. The two sections have thus long been considered distinct lakes. However, they lie at the same surface elevation, 577 feet (176 m), rise and fall together, and the flow of water between them at times reverses from eastward to westward. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states, "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake hydraulically because of their connection through the deep Straits of Mackinac."[2] When providing level information, The United States Army Corps of Engineers says "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake, as they rise and fall together due to their union at the Straits of Mackinac."[3]
At 45,410 square miles (117,600 km2), Lake Michigan-Huron is the largest of the Great Lakes in terms of surface area, being 48% of the total, and is the largest lake in the world after the Caspian Sea. (The Caspian is generally regarded as a saline lake, but is also regarded as a sea; geologically it is oceanic.[4][5][6]). Lake Superior holds more water, 3,000 cubic miles (12,500 km3) compared to Michigan-Huron's 2,000 cubic miles (8,300 km3), which makes Michigan-Huron the fourth largest lake by volume in the world after lakes Baikal, Tanganyika, and Superior.
During the last ice age, what is now Huron-Michigan was indeed two lakes, with what is now Lake Huron (known to geologists as Lake Stanley) separate from what is now Lake Michigan (Lake Chippewa). Before that Lake Chicago occupied the southern tip of the Lake Michigan basin, at the southern extent of the glaciers.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Michigan and Huron: One Lake or Two?" Pearson Education, Inc: Information Please Database, 2007.
- ^ Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. "Great Lakes Sensitivity to Climatic Forcing: Hydrological Models." NOAA, 2006.
- ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "Record Low Water Levels Expected on Lake Superior." August 2007.
- ^ "Endorheic Lakes". United Nations. http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/short_series/lakereservoirs-2/10.asp. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ^ "Saline Lake". www.britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/288440/inland-water-ecosystem/70740/Saline-lakes?anchor=ref588643. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ "ESA: Observing the Earth - Earth from Space: The southern Caspian Sea". ESA.int. http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM5GYTLWFE_index_0.html. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
[edit] External links
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