In the Front Door and Out the Back:
Getting to Know the North American Great Lakes
Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the video.
Description
The North American Great Lakes (NAGL) can be envisioned as a large, slow-moving river flowing from Lake Superior to the St. Lawrence River and thence to the Atlantic Ocean (note that Duluth, MN, is the farthest west Atlantic port). But there is far more to them than that. They provide drinking water, recreation, transportation, and more. But because of our hydrologic tinkering the lakes now provide us with such invaders as lampreys, quagga and zebra mussels. Dredging woes are present. The effects of climate change are worrisome. The lakes, mainly Lake Erie, are subject to toxic algal blooms.
Learning Objectives
- The role of the Compact covering the 'Club of Eight' - the eight states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio) who are part of the NAGL watershed.
- How does the Compact affect the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, who also share the NAGL watershed.
- How does the International Joint Commission (IJC), a bi-national agency, affect the NAGL.
Lake Characteristics Area (sq. miles);
Depth (feet): maximum; average
Superior: 31,700; 1,332; 483
Huron: 23,000; 750; 195
Michigan: 22,300; 925; 279
Erie: 9,910; 210; 62 Ontario: 7,340; 802; 283
Note: Superior is the largest (area) freshwater lake on Earth. Only the Caspian Sea (salty) is larger. Deepest is Lake Baikal in Siberia: 5,315 feet deep
Words of Wisdom
"The Great Lakes don't belong to just the people who live on their shores. They belong to everyone, just like the federal forests out West. So in that sense everyone has a stake in how the lakes are managed."- Dan Egan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. (2017) See: https://tinyurl.com/76trcc7t for my review of his book.
You can find a more detailed article on the Great Lakes in the May-June 2024 issue of Water Resources IMPACT - go to
Mary Frances and I will be cruising Lake Superior in
September. Last year we cruised the other 4.
Listen to ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ by Gordon Lightfoot.
https://youtu.be/9vST6hVRj2A?si=Ag1XYllgXOsw0K-J
Enjoy!
"You ain’t from here, but our donors are and they don’t like you." - @ass_deans
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