Great lake. Great Lakes of North America (USA and Canada): photo, video, where the great American lakes are located on the map Great American lakes on the map

The Great Lakes are unique. They are located on the territory of two countries (USA and Canada) and are connected by a network of rivers and canals, forming a water system. These freshwater lakes are called "great" for a reason, there are 5 of them in total, the volume of drinking water in them is 22,671 km3, and total area 244 106 km2. If it were not for this huge pool, a significant part North America would be left without water.

The upper lakes are distinguished: Superior, Michigan and Huron, and lower lakes: Erie and Ontario.

general information

The depth of the Upper is more than 400 meters. Michigan and Huron provide water to major US cities such as Chicago and Detroit, and between Erie and Ontario is a magnificent Niagara Falls. According to one version, these unique waters formed after the melting of glaciers. From the chemical composition of the fossils, scientists have determined that once the water in the lakes was much colder. It took more than a hundred thousand years for the icy stream to carve out the five largest pools on earth.

Lake Superior

The most majestic of all five -. During a storm, the height of its waves reaches 12 meters. In terms of volume, the lake is second only to Baikal (the deepest and clean lake in the world). Along the coast there are many places for recreation and camping, which tourists enjoy visiting in the summer. Scientific research is carried out here all year round.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan, which in the language of the Indians means "big water", has a length of 2.5 thousand km and resembles the Pacific coast. It surprises even the most capricious tourists. Rest near this reservoir is an elite and expensive pleasure, and fishing is considered the most popular activity among locals and visitors.

Lake Huron

The name Huron comes from the Indian tribe of the Hurons, who previously lived off its coast. The reservoir contains a huge number of islands (about 30 thousand), many of which are natural and historical reserves. Huron water is clean and transparent, but it heats up only by +14 - +16 degrees.

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the least watery among the Great. Its waters and favorable environment big influence on the origin of many different fish, which makes the reservoir very popular for fishing. The best grapes are grown on the banks of the Erie. Agriculture and shipping are developing well here.

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario resembles a blue endless sea, and the city of Toronto located near it is a large entertainment center for family summer holiday. Large port cities Hamilton, Rochester and Kingston are located on the low-lying banks of the reservoir. Due to its shallow depth, it never freezes or storms, which contributes to the ideal development of agriculture.

Conclusion

Researchers believe that lakes contain about 18% of the world's fresh water. More than 174 species of fish (families of perch, salmon, cyprinids, etc.) are found in the Great Lakes basin. The best perch fishing in the world, according to scientists, takes place in these places.

Groundwater is the main source of nutrition for the vast basin. And the famous reservoirs themselves supply water to more than 30 million people living in Canada and the United States. The main areas of activity of the population: industry, trade, tourism, communication. Due to the high concentration of pollution, the decrease in the number of fish and the presence of dangerous chemicals in water bodies, in 1972 an agreement was signed between the United States and Canada to improve the quality of water in the Great Lakes basin, for which the countries allocated several million dollars.

visit unique monument nature is sought by people from all over the world. Tourists call these places "resort paradise". They go there in search unforgettable experience, fresh healthy water and clean air will be enough for everyone.

All of us at the word "lake" imagine a kind of quiet body of water, surrounded by a visible line of the coast. There will be no such lakes in this article.
Have you ever heard of lakes where storm surges occur and are larger than some seas? I present to your attention a selection of "the largest lakes in the world", which includes the 10 largest lakes.
10th place
So, at the end of the list of the largest lakes in the world, we have a lake called Nyasa. It is located simultaneously in Africa, in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi.

It is located in a discharge depression at an altitude of 472 m. The area is 30.8 thousand sq. km. Depth up to 706 m (in the northern part of the reservoir, where its bottom lies significantly below sea level). The shores are steep and rocky, high, especially in the north and northeast.

The southern part of the basin lies in a wide depression, the banks are framed by a narrow strip of the coastal plain. The average annual inflow of water into the lake (river runoff plus precipitation) is about 72 km2, evaporation is about 66 km3.

The lake is rich in fish (about 230 species), in particular species of tilapis, crocodiles, hippos, and many waterfowl. With the light hand of some scientists, it is called the birthplace of aquarium fish. Also, Lake Nyasa is characterized by severe storms and surfs near steep banks, which impede navigation (passengers are transported only during the day).

Small, isn't it? There are 9 more such “crumbs” ahead, and they will be by no means less ...
9th place
On the 9th place - Big Bear Lake.

Great Bear Lake is the largest lake in Canada and the fourth largest in North America. The lake is located on the Arctic Circle, between 65 and 67 degrees north latitude and 118 and 123 degrees west longitude, at a level of 186 m above sea level.

The lake has an outflow through the Great Bear River into the Mackenzie River. The only settlements on the lake are Deline on the southwest end and Echo Cove on the northeast side.

On this lake you can see such beauty.

8th place
In eighth place in the list of the largest lakes in the world - Baikal - concurrently also deepest lake planets.

Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake on the planet Earth, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water. The lake and coastal areas are different unique diversity flora and fauna, most species are endemic. Locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea.

More than half of the year the lake is ice-bound, the freezing period is January 15 - May 1, navigation is carried out from June to September. Since 1956, the lake has been an integral part of the Irkutsk (Baikal) reservoir of long-term regulation, formed by the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station.

Baikal is located in the center of Asia, in Russia, on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The lake stretches from north to southwest for 636 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Baikal ranges from 25 to 80 km.

Olkhon Island

The water surface area is 31,722 sq. km, which is approximately equal to the area of countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark. The length of the coastline is 2,100 km.

The lake is located in a kind of basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. At the same time, the western coast is rocky and steep, the relief of the eastern coast is more gentle (in some places the mountains recede from the coast for tens of kilometers).

7th place
Lake Tanganyika - large lake in Central Africa. This is one of the largest lakes in the world and is equally ancient in origin. In terms of volume and depth, Tanganyika ranks second after Lake Baikal. The shores of the lake belong to four countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi.

The lake is about 650 km long and 40-80 km wide. The area is 34 thousand sq. km. Lies at an altitude of 773 meters above sea level in the tectonic basin of the East African Rift Zone. Coastal landscapes, as a rule, are huge rocks and only on the eastern side of the coast are gentle. On west coast the steep sidewalls of the East African Rift Zone, which form coastline, reach 2000 m in height. The coastline is dotted with bays and bays. The largest of them is Burton Bay. The lake is fed by several tributaries. The only outflowing river - Lukuga (Lukuga) begins in the middle part of the west coast and flows west, connecting with the Zaire River, which flows into the Atlantic.

The lake is home to hippos, crocodiles, and a lot of waterfowl. Fishing and shipping are well developed.

The antiquity of the lake and the long period of isolation ended with the development a large number endemic organisms, including those from the family Cichlidae (cichlids). Of the more than 200 species of fish living in the lake, about 170 are endemic.

Tanganyika is inhabited to about a depth of 200 m, below this mark there is a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide and life is absent to the very bottom. This layer of the lake is a huge "burial ground" consisting of organic silt and sedimentary mineral compounds.

The water temperature of Tanganyika strictly differs in layers. So, in the upper layer, the temperature ranges from 24 to 30 degrees, with a decrease at great depths. Due to the different density of water and the absence of a bottom current, the layers do not mix, and the temperature at the lower horizons reaches only 6-8 degrees.

The depth of the temperature jump layer is about 100 m. The Tanganika water is very transparent (up to 30 m). Many salts are dissolved in it in small concentrations, so that in its composition it resembles a highly diluted marine one. Water hardness (mainly due to magnesium salts) ranges from 8 to 15 degrees. Water has an alkaline reaction, pH 8.0 - 9.5.

The lake was discovered in 1858 by English travelers R. Burton and J. Speke.

6th place
The sixth among the largest lakes in the world is the Aral Sea.

Aral Sea - endorheic salt Lake V Central Asia, on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Since the 1960s of the XX century, the sea level (and the volume of water in it) has been rapidly decreasing due to the withdrawal of water from the main supply rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya for irrigation purposes. Prior to the start of shallowing, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world.

Collector-drainage waters coming from the fields into the bed of the Syrdarya and Amudarya caused deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides, appearing in places on 54 thousand sq. km of the former seabed covered with salt. Dust storms carry salt, dust and pesticides to a distance of up to 500 km. Sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate are airborne and destroy or slow down the development of natural vegetation and crops. The local population suffers from a high prevalence of respiratory diseases, anemia, cancer of the larynx and esophagus, as well as digestive disorders. Diseases of the liver and kidneys, eye diseases have become more frequent.

In 2001, as a result of a drop in the water level, Vozrozhdeniye Island was connected to the mainland. On this island, the Soviet Union tested bacteriological weapons: the causative agents of anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, plague, typhoid, smallpox, as well as botulinum toxin were tested here on horses, monkeys, sheep, donkeys and other laboratory animals. This is the reason for the fear that deadly microorganisms have retained their viability, and infected rodents may become their distributors in other regions.

According to the calculations of scientists, it is no longer possible to save the Aral Sea. Even if we completely refuse to take water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, the previous water level in it will be restored no earlier than in 200 years.
The Aral Sea once occupied 68 thousand square kilometers and was the fourth largest in the world. Now its area is about 10% of that recorded in the 60s of the last century. Pictures from 1989 and 2003:

This is a photo from 2008

From the 1950s to the present, projects have been repeatedly proposed for the construction of a canal for transferring water from the Ob basin to the Aral Sea basin, which would significantly develop the economy of the Aral Sea region (in particular, agriculture) and partially revive the Aral Sea. Such construction will require very large material costs (on the part of several states - Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), so there is no talk of practical implementation of these projects yet.

Some scientists predict the complete disappearance of the Aral Sea by 2020...

5th place
In the middle of the list of the largest lakes in the world is Lake Michigan - one of the North American Great Lakes.

The only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States. Located south of the lake The upper one is connected to Lake Huron by the Mackinac Strait, to the Mississippi River system - the Chicago-Lockport Canal.

From the point of view of hydrography, Michigan and Huron form a single system, but geographically they are considered to be separate lakes.

The area of Michigan is about 57,750 km2 (the third largest among the Great Lakes), about 500 km long, about 190 km wide. The surface height above sea level is 177 m (as in Huron), the depth is up to 281 m. It is covered with ice for about four months a year. Islands - Beaver, North Manitou, South Manitou.

The states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin have access to the lake. Major cities on Lake Michigan include Chicago, Evanston and Highland Park (Illinois), Milwaukee and Green Bay (Wisconsin), Gary and Hammond (Indiana).

The name of the lake comes from the word mishigami, which means "big water" in the Ojibwa language. The first European to discover the lake was the Frenchman Jean Nicolet in 1634.

4th place
Lake Huron is the fourth largest lake in the world. It is a lake in the USA and Canada, one of the North American Great Lakes. located east of the lake Michigan, connected to it by the Strait of Mackinac. From the point of view of hydrography, Michigan and Huron form a single system (they are connected by the Mackinac Strait), but geographically they are considered to be separate lakes.

The Huron area is about 59.6 thousand km2 (the second largest among the Great Lakes). The surface height above sea level is about 176 m (as in Michigan), the depth is up to 229 m.

The states of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario have access to the lake. The main ports on Huron are Saginaw, Bay City, Alpina (USA) and Sarnia (Canada).

The name of the lake, introduced by the French, comes from the name of the Huron Indian tribe.

Manitoulin is located on Huron - the most big Island peace, located in a fresh lake.

3rd place
Closes the top three largest lakes of Victoria - a lake in East Africa, in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Located in the tectonic trough of the East African Platform, at an altitude of 1134 m. This is the 2nd largest fresh lake in the world after Lake Superior and the most big lake in Africa

The lake was discovered and named after Queen Victoria by British traveler John Henning Speke in 1858.

The area of Lake Victoria is 68 thousand sq. km, the length is 320 km, the maximum width is 275 km. It is part of the Victoria Reservoir. Lots of islands. The high-water Kagera River flows in, the Victoria Nile River flows out. The lake is navigable, the locals are engaged in fishing on it.

The northern coast of the lake crosses the equator. The lake with a maximum depth of 80 m belongs to fairly deep lakes.

Unlike its deep-water neighbors, Tanganyika and Nyasa, which lie within the gorge system of Africa, Lake Victoria fills a shallow depression between the eastern and western sides of the Great Gorge valley. The lake receives a huge amount of water from the rains, more than from all its tributaries.

30 million people live in the vicinity of the lake. On the southern and western shores of the lake, the Haya people live, who knew how to grow coffee long before the arrival of Europeans. Main ports: Entebbe (Uganda), Mwanza, Bukoba (Tanzania), Kisumu (Kenya), near north coast Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

2nd place
In second place is Lake Superior, the largest, deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes and, concurrently, the largest freshwater lake in the world.

In the north upper lake bounded by the territory of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the west by the US state of Minnesota, in the south by the states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

The basins of Lake Superior and the northern part of Lake Huron were worked out in the crystalline rocks of the southern part of the Canadian Shield, the basins of the other lakes - in the thickness of limestones, dolomites and sandstones of the Paleozoic of the North American Platform. The basin of the Upper Lake was formed as a result of tectonic movements, pre-glacial river and glacial erosion.

The origin of the water mass of the Upper Lake is associated with the melting of the ice sheet, during the retreat of which a number of large lakes were formed in this area, which repeatedly changed their outlines.

In the northern part of the Great Lakes, the coastline is dissected, the islands and shores (up to 400 m high) are rocky, steep, very picturesque, especially the shores of Lake Superior and the northern part of Lake Huron.

Fluctuations in the level of the Upper Lake are artificially regulated for the purposes of navigation, energy, etc. The amplitude of seasonal fluctuations is 30-60 cm, the most high level observed in summer, the lowest - in winter. Short-term level fluctuations caused by strong surge winds and seiches reach 3-4 m, the height of the tides is 3-4 cm

1 place
The Caspian Sea tops the ranking of "Most big lakes of the world" - despite the fact that it is called the sea, in fact it is the largest drainless lake on the planet. It is located at the junction of Europe and Asia, and is called the sea only because of its size. The Caspian Sea is a drainless lake, and the water in it is salty, from 0.05 ‰ near the mouth of the Volga to 11-13 ‰ in the southeast.

The Caspian Sea is similar in shape to the Latin letter S, its length from north to south is about 1200 kilometers, from west to east - from 195 to 435 kilometers, an average of 310-320 kilometers.

The Caspian Sea is conditionally divided according to physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the Northern Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the Southern Caspian. The conditional border between the North and Middle Caspian runs along the line Chechen (island) - Tyub-Karagansky cape, between the Middle and South Caspian - along the line Zhiloy (island) - Gan-Gulu (cape). The area of the Northern, Middle and Southern Caspian is respectively 25, 36, 39 percent of the total area of the Caspian Sea.

The length of the coastline of the Caspian Sea is estimated at about 6500 - 6700 kilometers, with islands - up to 7000 kilometers. The shores of the Caspian Sea in most of its territory are low-lying and smooth. In the northern part, the coastline is indented by water channels and islands of the Volga and Ural deltas, the shores are low and swampy, and the water surface is covered with thickets in many places.

On east coast limestone coasts adjoining semi-deserts and deserts predominate. The most winding coasts are on the west coast in the area of the Apsheron Peninsula and on the east coast in the area of the Kazakh Gulf and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

The territory adjacent to the Caspian Sea is called the Caspian Sea.

The area and volume of water in the Caspian Sea varies significantly depending on fluctuations in water levels. With a water level of 26.75 m, the area is approximately 371,000 km square kilometers, the volume of water is 78,648 cubic kilometers, which is approximately 44 percent of the world's lake water reserves. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression, 1025 meters from its surface level. In terms of maximum depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Baikal (1620 m) and Tanganyika (1435 m). The average depth of the Caspian Sea is 208 meters. At the same time, the northern part of the Caspian Sea is shallow, its maximum depth does not exceed 25 meters, and the average depth is 4 meters.

The Great Lakes of America: unique freshwater mirrors

Lakes are often called the pearls of the Earth. There are hundreds of thousands of them on our planet: completely different, large and small, tropical and polar. Each of them has its own peculiarity, its own, albeit small, secret. Among this great diversity there is a scattering of lakes known to the whole world, which are truly the decoration of the whole continent. These are the American Great Lakes.

Without them, the North American continent is unthinkable.

This unique lake system is located on the border of the USA and Canada. Even an attempt to describe them turns, in essence, into a listing of records. Most guides inform that the system consists of the "magnificent five": Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. Sometimes Lake St. Clair is added to them, although it is much smaller in area.

There is one more feature. Lakes Huron and Michigan are interconnected not just by rivers, like all other lakes of the system, but by a wide strait. In addition, their surface level is exactly the same. Based on this, strictly hydrographically, this couple should be considered one body of water, but such an approach is inconvenient in the economic sense, and it contradicts, so to speak, the well-established folk habit.

The Great Lakes are striking in their scale. Their total area is a little more than 244 thousand km², the volume of water is 22,671 km³. Hydrologists have calculated that the Great Lakes contain 18% of the world's fresh water. And how not to compare them with the pearl of Russia, Lake Baikal! It is about 7.5 times smaller in area, but there is even a little more water in Baikal than in the Great Lakes - 24% of the world's freshwater reserves!

The comparison, in particular, makes it unequivocal that despite the vast area, the Great Lakes are relatively shallow. Indeed, the largest among them, the Upper, has an average depth of only 147 meters (at Baikal it is 744 meters).

The northern shores of the lakes are predominantly wooded, sparsely populated, suitable for recreation and tourism. Along southern shores a network of important industrial centers emerged.

All lakes are interconnected by rivers and narrow straits. Several hundred rivers flow into them, but they are all small, local importance. Only one comes out of the system. big river- Saint Lawrence. It carries the fresh water of the lakes to Atlantic Ocean.

The flow of water in this river significantly exceeds the amount that comes into lakes with small streams. The fact is that the food of the giants occurs mainly due to underground sources and precipitation.

The relief of the mainland in the place where the lakes are located has a general slope from north to south. Thus, the northernmost of the giants, Lake Superior, also has the highest height above sea level. The farther south, the level of the next lake is slightly lower. The largest difference is between lakes Erie and Ontario: the Niagara track flows between them with its world-famous waterfall.

The lakes are incredibly rich in fish, this is a real Klondike for lovers fishing. It is estimated that the Great Lakes are home to 174 species of fish!

History of the Great Lakes System of America

Geologists have determined that the Great Lakes system was formed, by historical standards, quite recently, about 12 thousand years ago. At that time, almost the entire surface of North America was covered with a thick layer of ice, apparently reaching at least a kilometer. The mass of ice pushed through the earth's crust, forming a kind of lens. These lenses gradually deepened under the influence of the glacier: he raked out their bottom, like a gigantic bulldozer.

When the ice age on the planet ended, the mass of ice melted, and part of its waters turned out to be in depressions, as if in a trap. Thus formed what is now called the Great American Lakes. Studying the chemical composition of the fossils, scientists came to the conclusion that in ancient times the water temperature in the lakes was much lower than now.

The amount of water reserves in the lake system is slowly but steadily decreasing. However, this trend is observed throughout the planet.

Brief description of the Great Lakes of America

Each of the Great American Lakes is unique, worthy of a separate big description. Only the most general information can be listed here.

Lake Superior

Even among such gigantic reservoirs, it is a giant! Suffice it to say that the volume of water in the lake is approximately equal to the total volume in the remaining four lakes of the Big Five. Among his records, the following should be mentioned:

The largest freshwater lake in the world by area;
The deepest among the Great Lakes;
The northernmost in this group, and the most elevated relative to the World Ocean - 186 m above its level;
During storms, the wave height here exceeds 10 meters.

The upper one is located mostly in Canada, its northern shores are usually rocky, covered with forests, the southern ones are gentle and sandy. The St. Marys River flows out of it, flowing into the Huron. Washes the states - Minnesota and Michigan.

Lake Huron

The coastline of Lake Huron is incredibly indented, and is more than 6 thousand km! (For comparison - from Moscow to Madrid only 3440 km). As already mentioned, the lake is connected to Lake Michigan by a wide (3 km wide) Strait of Mackinac.

It is characteristic that there are about 30 thousand islands on Huron, among them the largest is Manitoulin Island. It is notable at least for the fact that it bears the title of the largest terrestrial island located in freshwater lake. The state of Luxembourg would fit on it, and there would still be some free space left. There are also lakes on Manitoulin, among them a large one - Manitou. And this is not the whole “matryoshka”, Manitou has its own islands with lakes!

The average depth of Huron is 59 meters. It borders the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Lake Michigan

Of all the Great Lakes, only it is located exclusively in the United States. Its average depth is 85 meters, the length of the coastline is over 1.5 thousand km. The lake is covered with ice for several months of the year. The reservoir suffers from industrial load, because such a large city as Chicago is located in the immediate vicinity. In recent decades, the country's authorities have been doing a lot to improve the ecological picture in Michigan, and there are great successes in this direction.

Lake Erie

Stretched from southwest to northeast for 390 km. The average depth is 19 meters. It is mainly located in the United States, but also enters the Canadian province of Ontario. Due to the shallow depth, the waters of the lake warm up well, so there is excellent fishing, as well as many farms breeding fry. However, the so-called "dead zones" associated with phosphorite pollution are also observed in the lake. These zones have been significantly reduced in the last 20 years. The shores of Erie are also famous for their vineyards, because the climate here is milder than in places similar in latitude, but far from the water.

Lake Ontario

The smallest in area among the "big five", with an average depth of 86 meters. It closes the entire system, dumping water into the Atlantic. Largest cities in the vicinity - Toronto, Kingston and Rochester. The proximity of the ocean and shallow depth lead to the fact that the lake never freezes, there are almost no storms here. There are many nature reserves on the coast, places for organized family vacation; No wonder the name of the lake from the language of the Huron Indians is translated as “beautiful”.

Interesting facts about America's Great Lakes

The entire system of the Great American Lakes is a huge network of canals, rivers, shipping routes, the total length of which exceeds 3 thousand km. Lakes provide work and water to tens of millions of people. The total length of the coastline of the unique lake system is about 18 thousand km, which significantly exceeds the length of the US land border!

It is noteworthy that storms with huge waves often occur on lakes, especially the largest ones. It is estimated that over 600 ships have sunk in the waters of the Five over the past two centuries!

During World War II, American pilots used the Great Lakes to practice takeoffs and landings on aircraft carriers. 18,000 pilots were trained, and about 300 aircraft were sunk!

Quite mystical is an obscure phenomenon when on the lakes, in completely calm, calm weather, giant waves rise, with crushing force flying onto the shores. The Indians called this phenomenon "three sisters." Scientific explanations boil down to the fact that the bottom of the lakes sometimes experiences sharp fluctuations. It remains a mystery that, at the same time, the surrounding seismic stations do not record any tremors.

Entire books can be written about the Great American Lakes. They were the cradle for many Indian tribes, the first European settlements were formed around them. And now these natural pearls have become indispensable for the two great powers, the USA and Canada, successfully fitting into their economy and culture, being an adornment of the whole continent, and in fact, the property of the entire planet.

The Great Lakes are the largest accumulation of fresh water on Earth (22.7 thousand sq. km). The system includes five bodies of water: Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. The Great Lakes have long been used as natural waterways, despite the fact that traveling through them was fraught with considerable dangers.

Today, the bottom of the Great Lakes is literally strewn with the skeletons of ships that once suffered a shipwreck in their waters. Among local scuba diving enthusiasts, even a special direction has appeared - wreck diving, during which divers find and explore sunken ships.

We are used to the fact that most shipwrecks occur in the ocean. The culprits of disasters are, as a rule, storms, icebergs and coral reefs. However, those who live near the Great Lakes are familiar with storms, and with mysterious waves, and even ... with their own "version" of the Flying Dutchman.

Storms on large lakes are a phenomenon of the same order as storms on small seas. But they are much less often reported in the newspapers, and only a few, the most outstanding catastrophes, get into the headlines of the major newspapers. According to the latest data provided by American divers, between six and ten thousand shipwrecked ships rest at the bottom of the Great Lakes. Every year this list is updated with a dozen discovered ships. Approximately one in five can be identified - water and time do not spare either logbooks or hulls.

The story of one of these ships, which disappeared during a storm in 1912 and was discovered sixty years later, formed the basis of the musical "Christmas Schooner". The fact is that the main cargo of the ship was Christmas trees. In vain, the residents were looking forward to the arrival of the festive cargo - the fir trees remained at the bottom of the lake, so they did not please anyone. For a long time, the schooner was listed among the missing until it was discovered by scuba divers.

Another story - and completely from the category of mystical. It is willingly told to tourists. On September 18, 1679, the Griffon ship, owned by the French traveler René Robert, Chevalier de La Salle, was to arrive in Niagara, New York. This ship was built here, and it was well known local residents. When it became clear that the Griffon was delayed, at first no one attached much importance to this - the ships quite often ran out of schedule for several hours. But since the ship did not appear either a day or a week later, it became clear that another shipwreck had occurred. There were no witnesses to the tragedy that took place on the Griffon, it simply disappeared without a trace. Its wreckage was discovered and identified only in 1955. But this is far from the strangest. Many people who do not know each other claim that on foggy nights, the Griffon is often seen silently sailing through Lake Huron. At night, it is impossible to see all the details of its equipment, but the outlines of the vessel are easily recognizable.

Such ghost ships on the Great Lakes have become accustomed to. Mentions of them are found in chronicles dating back to the middle of the 17th century. For example, in New Haven (Connecticut) in 1648, many people simultaneously saw a ghost ship. Moreover, he did not just sail past, but showed the astonished spectators the scene of a shipwreck. This outstanding event was interpreted as a sign sent down by God, shedding light on the mystery of the death of one of the missing ships. However, those who have encountered ghost ships note that they quite often depict scenes of their crash, repeating them at each meeting with observers.

If in the distant XVII century. the appearance of ghosts and mysterious shipwrecks were explained by the play of supernatural forces, today scientists have taken up the solution to this phenomenon. There were plenty of hypotheses.

The most rationally minded researchers attributed the incident to storms of great strength. They still occur - for example, in 2003, a storm broke out over the Great Lakes, accompanied by snow and rain. The wind speed reached 100 km/h. The elements destroyed hundreds of buildings, more than one and a half million people were left without electricity. Of course, modern means of communication helped to transmit a storm warning to all residents of the area, so that only two people died. And two or three centuries ago, ship captains had to rely only on signs. Hurricanes and storms on the Great Lakes are often attributed to the influence of El Niño (El Nino in Spanish - "Christ Child"). This is a warm seasonal surface current in the eastern part Pacific Ocean appears with a frequency of two to seven years and has an adverse effect on the climate. Hurricanes, tornadoes and storms caused by El Niño are extremely powerful and unpredictable. However, not in all cases, the death of ships was due to a storm.

The Indians living on the coast of the Great Lakes have preserved many ancient legends, which are based on real facts. In particular, local tribes are well aware of one natural phenomenon, which has remained almost unexplored until now - "Three Sisters". "Three sisters" are three huge waves, which quite unexpectedly appear on the smooth surface of the lake and rush to the shore, sweeping away everything in its path. The legends of the Chippeza tribe explain the appearance of the "Three Sisters" by the movement of a giant sturgeon, as if living in the Great Lakes. Modern Americans are also familiar with this phenomenon, but they call it "session", which means "level fluctuations". On June 26, 1954, the session hit the shoreline of Lake Michigan between the cities of Whiting (Indiana) and Wakegen (Illinois), destroyed dozens of buildings and 50 people, of whom 8 drowned. Many of the fishermen sat quietly on the shore of the lake with fishing rods. The weather was beautiful, the lake looked perfectly calm. Suddenly, a water shaft about three meters high fell on the shore. It happened so suddenly that no one had time to escape.

A similar phenomenon was also observed on Lake Superior. Jay Gawley, who wrote a book about the mysteries of the Great Lakes, described the catastrophe that occurred with the bulk carrier "Sames E. Davidson" with a displacement of six thousand tons. If the disappearance of ships that plied the waters of the Great Lakes in the 17th century can be explained by their technical imperfection and the absence of a meteorological service, then the death of a modern dry cargo ship seems inexplicable. The wave effortlessly destroyed a ship that could withstand an ocean storm. Her power must be colossal! The wind, no matter how strong, could not give the wave such energy. Where, then, do such waves come from on the Great Lakes? The most likely version seems to be that the Three Sisters and similar phenomena are caused by tremors. In this case, both the sudden formation of waves and their amazing energy are easily explained. But if this were true, then the seismic stations of the United States and Canada would easily compare data on tremors with the frequency of occurrence of huge waves. The Great Lakes phenomenon would be explained, even predictable, from seismic data. However, there is no direct correspondence between earthquakes and waves.

Even more mysterious is the fact that planes go missing over the Great Lakes. A three-meter wave could not bring them down! But the fact remains: there are many more air crashes over the lakes than over the rest of the adjacent territory. This area is gradually gaining fame anomalous zone, no less famous than the Bermuda Triangle.

Among the hypotheses explaining the "strange behavior" of lakes, there are the most incredible. In particular, ufologists are convinced that anomalous phenomena are either caused by aliens or are the object of their interest. According to Jay Gauley, over the Great Lakes, observers have repeatedly noticed strange objects that can move completely silently and have extreme maneuverability. In this regard, it was suggested that in the Great Lakes region there are some kind of “gates” through which aliens enter our world. Their use creates a disturbance in nature, as a result of which huge waves arise on the lake, and the planes lose control and fall.

Scientists also believe that the myth of flying saucers has the same dubious value as the legends of the Indians about the giant sturgeon. In any case, attempts to explain the inexplicable should be based on facts, and not on a blind faith in the existence of "brothers in mind." However, we have to admit that modern science is able to explain only a part of the phenomena observed on the Great Lakes. In particular, according to experts, the main culprits of shipwrecks are still not mythical aliens and not even the Three Sisters, but the most ordinary storm waves. The fact is that lakes, no matter how large they are, are still much smaller than the ocean. Therefore, storm waves are different there. In the oceans, long and relatively gentle waves are formed, which only shake ships. Only those ships that are in close proximity to the coast are at risk. They can be thrown onto rocks or reefs. It is no coincidence that the captains, having received a storm warning, took the ships to the open sea. In large lakes and small seas, a different effect is observed: the waves there are short and very steep. They are able not only to rock the ship, but also to turn it over. This insidious property of storms on lakes is well known to everyone who swims in the Caspian Sea, Baikal and Lake Ladoga.

But the appearance of the ghosts of sunken ships and the disappearance of aircraft so far has absolutely no scientific explanation. Perhaps these phenomena are somehow connected with the geological structure of the region. But it will be a long time before the mystery of the Great Lakes is solved.

The Great Lakes of North America are a unique natural system consisting of five large lakes connected to each other by rivers and straits. What lakes are honored to be called great, what is the history of their occurrence, and where they are located, we will find out in this article.

General information

The Great Lakes are located on the territory of two states: Canada and the United States of America. They belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, and the occupied area is 245.2 thousand square meters. km. with a volume of water 22671 cubic meters. km. This water system includes five major freshwater lakes and numerous very small lakes and rivers.

Rice. 1. Great lakes.

In terms of the size of the occupied area, the Great Lakes surpass even Lake Baikal by about 7.5 times. Despite this, Baikal holds a larger amount of water, which indicates the shallow depth of the Great Lakes. The average depth of Lake Baikal is 744 meters, and the depth of the North American Pearl is 147 meters.

The Great Lakes include:

Lake Superior;
Lake Huron;
Lake Michigan;
Lake Erie;
Lake Ontario.

All lakes are interconnected by rivers, canals and straits and together form a unique water system that exists only in North America.

Origin story

The Great Lakes system originates 12 thousand years ago, when the territory of modern North America was covered with ice. Under the influence of tectonic processes, depressions were formed - pits, which gradually filled with fresh water. Where did the water come from? The fact is that the climate gradually changed and the mainland became warmer. The ice melted, and the resulting water filled the depressions, thereby forming lakes.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it is located exclusively in the United States. All the other "big five" lakes occupy space in both the US and Canada. Scholars often do not separate Huron and Michigan into separate lakes, but treat them as a single entity. After all, they are on the same level and are connected by a deep strait.

In the language of the Indians who originally lived on these lands, the name mishigami is translated as "big water".

Lake Erie

Most of Lake Erie is located in the United States, in Canada it washes the shores of the province of Ontario. It is connected to Lake Ontario by the Niagara River. It is in the bed of this river that the world-famous Niagara Falls is located. Compared to the rest, the lake is not at all deep, the water in it warms up well, which contributes to the reproduction of many species of fish.

Lake Ontario

The last lake in the Great Lakes is Lake Ontario. It is the smallest in this water system. Its area is 20 thousand sq. km. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River. Since the Atlantic Ocean is very close, the water in the lake almost never freezes.