Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of North America's
Great Lakes. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by
surface area with Lake Baikal in Siberia having more volume. (The
Caspian Sea is larger, but contains salt water.) Lake Superior has
a surface area of 82,000 km² (32,000 sq. mi.), larger than the
Czech Republic. It has a maximum length of 350 mi (563 km) and
maximum width of 160 mi (257 km). Its average depth is 489 ft (149
m) with a maximum depth of 1,333 ft (406 m). Lake Superior contains
2,935 cubic mi (12,232 cubic km) of water. The shoreline of the
lake stretches 2,730 miles (4393 km) (including islands).
The Great Lakes from space;
Lake Superior is on the upper left.
It borders Ontario in Canada, and Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan
in the United States of America. It is an important shipment route
for iron ore and is part of the Great Lakes Waterway.
The lake is fed by over 200 rivers. The largest include the Nipigon
River, the St Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the
White River, the Michipicoten River and the Kaministiquia River.
Lake Superior drains into Lake Huron by the St. Marys River. The
rapids on the river necessitate the Sault locks (pronounced "soo"),
a part of the Great Lakes Waterway, to move boats over the 25 foot
height difference from Lake Huron.
Water levels, including diversions of water from the Hudson Bay
watershed, are governed by the International Lake Superior Board of
Control which was established in 1914 by the International Joint
Commission.
Important towns on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth,
Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Marquette,
Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie,
Michigan.
Lake Superior, viewed from Au
Train Bay in Alger County, Michigan
Among the scenic places on the lake are the Apostle Islands
National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park, Pukaskwa National
Park, Grand Island National Recreation Area, and Pictured Rocks
National Lakeshore.
The lake is called "Gitche Gumee" ("big water") in the language of
the Ojibwe who have inhabited the area for over five hundred years.
The lake was named Lac
Supérieur by French explorers because it was the highest in
elevation of all the Great Lakes. The land surrounding the lake in
Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan has proved to be rich
for mining. Commercial concerns have mined copper, iron, silver,
gold and nickel. Many towns are either current or former mining
areas, or engaged in processing or shipment. The sparsely populated
Lake Superior country with its rugged shorelines and wilderness
attract tourists and adventurers, making tourism a large modern
industry.
The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale.
The Anishinabe were primarily located around the Great Lakes
region.
According to an old sailor's tale, Lake Superior never gives up her
dead. This is because the lake is much colder and deeper than most
other bodies of water. Bodies tend to sink and (unlike the ocean)
never surface again.
The last major shipwreck on Lake Superior was that of the SS Edmund
Fitzgerald in 1975.
Issue #106
