About Lake Erie
The warmest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie also freezes more. The 4th largest considered surface area, at 9,910 square miles but smallest by water volume, at 116 cubic miles.
Four U.S. states — New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan — touches Lake Erie along with the province of Ontario. The eastern end has Buffalo, N.Y., with Toledo, Ohio, covering the western end. The southern shore has Cleveland, Erie Pa.
The southernmost of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie’s water flows in by the Detroit River from the upper lakes — Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron — along with a few tributaries such as the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair. The main outlet though is Niagara Falls.
Lake Erie is a tail-like shape, and that is reflected in its name, which is erielhonan, the Iroquoian word meaning “long tail.” The lake is around 241 miles long, 57 miles wide and has 871 miles of beautiful shoreline, including its islands.
Lake Erie was formed by a receding glacier making it quite young — around 4,000 years old.
Explored last by Europeans. Louis Joliet a French explorer is credited with its discovery in 1669
The water temp is normally in the low 70s in the summer, which makes Lake Erie quite a popular area. While in winter, the temperatures drop to freezing, and the water freezes over more than any other of the Great Lakes because of how shallow it is. The average depth is around 62 feet the maximum depth is 210 feet.
In the lakes shallowest area, Water is around 25 to 30 feet, which allows strong winds to kick up powerful waves.
The Lake draws many sports anglers and has a large walleye fishery. guide boats take visitors out onto the lake to catch the smallmouth bass. Once frozen over Ice fishing becomes very popular.
The Lake has its own legendary monster Bessie most likely a massive sturgeon.
The lake invaded by mayflies in 99 was viewed as a sign of the lake’s returning health and a balance of nature.
Its rich soil, causes the region to have a large amount of concord grapes. Lake erie itself is also has algae blooms once in a while.