Lake Huron

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Lake Huron, Canada/USA
Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes
Coordinates	45°00′N 83°00′W
Lake type	Glacial
Primary sources	St. Marys River
Primary outflows	St. Clair River
Basin countries	Canada, USA
Max-length	332 km
Max-width	245 km
Surface area	23,010 square miles (59,596 km²)[1]
Average depth	59 m
Max-depth	750 feet (229 m)[1]
Water volume	3,540 km³
Residence time (of lake water)	22 years
Shore length1	6,157 km
Surface elevation	577 feet (176  m)[1]
Islands	Manitoulin
Settlements	Saginaw, Michigan Bay City, Michigan Alpena, Michigan Cheboygan, Michigan St. Ignace, Michigan Port Huron, Michigan Goderich, Ontario Sarnia, Ontario
1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized for this article.

Ipperwash Beach, Lake Huron.

Lake Huron, bounded on the west by Michigan and on the east by Ontario, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it based on the Huron people inhabiting the region.

Lake Huron viewed from Arch Rock.

[edit] Geography

Lake Huron (45°00′N 83°00′W) is the second-largest of the Great Lakes, with a surface area of 23,010 square miles (59,596 km²)—nearly the size of West Virginia, making it the third largest fresh water lake on earth (4th largest lake if you include the saline Caspian Sea). It contains a volume of 850 cubic miles (3,540 km³), and a shoreline length of 3,827 miles (6,157 km).

The surface of Lake Huron is 577 feet (176 m) above sea level. The lake's average depth is 195 feet (59 m), while the maximum depth is 750 feet (229 m). It has a length of 206 miles (332 km) and a breadth of 183 miles (245 km). It contains 850 cubic miles (3,538 cubic km) of water.

Major cities on Lake Huron include: Saginaw, Michigan; Bay City, Michigan; Alpena, Michigan; Cheboygan, Michigan; St. Ignace, Michigan; Port Huron, Michigan; Goderich, Ontario; and Sarnia, Ontario.

A notable feature of the lake is Manitoulin Island, which separates the North Channel and Georgian Bay from Lake Huron's main body of water. It is the world's largest lake island.

[edit] Geology

Lake Huron is separated from Lake Michigan, which lies at the same level, and connects by the narrow Straits of Mackinac, making them geologically and hydrologically the same body of water (sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron). Lake Superior is slightly higher than both. It drains into the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie which then flows southward into Lake Huron. The water then flows south to the St. Clair River, at Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.

The Great Lakes Waterway continues thence to Lake St. Clair; the Detroit River and Detroit, Michigan; into Lake Erie and thence--via Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River--to the Atlantic Ocean.

Like the other Great Lakes, it was formed by melting ice as the continental glaciers retreated.

[edit] History

Since its French discoverers knew nothing as yet of the other lakes, they called it La Mer Douce, the sweet or fresh-water sea. A Sanson map in 1656 refers to the lake as Karegnondi.

Lake Huron was generally labeled "Lac des Hurons" (Lake of the Huron Indians) on most early maps.

[edit] Ecology

Lake Huron has a lake retention time of 22 years.

Major industries that drain into Lake Huron include: iron and steel mills, automobile manufacturing, heavy machinery, paper mills, metalworking, and shipbuilding.

[edit] See also

• Georgian Bay
• Saginaw Bay
• Mackinac Island
• Thunder Bay
• Les Cheneaux Islands
• Drummond Island
• Sauble Beach
• Wasaga Beach
• Hurricane Huron

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Fish Species of Lake Huron
• Lake Huron Data
• EPA's Great Lakes Atlas
• Lake Huron Binational Partnership 2006-2008 Action Plan
• Michigan DNR map of Lake Huron
• Lake Huron GIS