It is the largest and deepest of great and belong to the right to be called the largest freshwater lake in the world. The northeast of the lake is located in Canada, and the Western and southern part of the lake in the United States. Lake is located At an altitude of 183 meters above sea level. The length of the lake is 613 kilometers, the greatest width of the lake reaches 256 kilometers. The area of \u200b\u200bthe lake is 82,000 square kilometers, the greatest depth of the lake reaches 393 meters. The lakes of the lake has a tectonic origin, the northern shores of the lake are covered with rocks reaching the height of 400 meters. 
In turn, the southern shores of the lake Low lying and sandy. In Michigan, the coast of the lake is located deposits of copper and iron ore. The Saint Meris river flows from the lake for 112 kilometers and connects the upper lake with. Water in the lake is cold and transparent, in the central part of the lake, even in the middle of the summer, the water temperature does not exceed 4 degrees of heat. The central part of the lake does not freeze due to the raging autumn and winter storms, in turn, the coastal zone of the lake is covered by the beginning of December ice and is freed from ice by April. The upper lake is part of a large water path through great lakes, which takes place for 8 months of navigation in a year, about 22,000 vessels.
The total weight of the cargo transported is about 130 million tons. The water of the lake is rich in fish, among which trout and sturgeon are mined in an industrial way. On the shores of the lake there are large ports in Canada. This is Fort William and Port Arthur, in the United States Ashland, Marquette. In Ojibvy, the lake is called Gichigami and translates as "big water". In the 17th century, during the study of the lake by the French, it was called "The Highest Lake", because he was located above the Lake Huron, and later the name was adopted by the British.
A large salt lake is located in the United States, northwest in Utah, at an altitude of 1280 meters above sea level, its area ranges from 2500 to 6,000 square kilometers. The average depth of the lake is 4.5 - 7.5 meters, the greatest depth reaches 15 meters. The rivers like Bar, Jordan, Wieber and many others fall into the lake. The predecessor of the lake is [...]
The largest freshwater lake in the world, on the surface area - is an lake topwhich is located in North America between the United States and Canada. Lake top formed at the end of the second glacial period. The theory of the formation of this lake looks like this, a huge mass of ice on the place of today's lake for tens of thousands of years sold the earthly Corra, and formed a deepening - a depression, when the temperature on Earth began to rise - the glacier began to melt and filled with water this deepening, turning into a lake top.
Characteristics of Lake Upper
The top lake is the world's largest freshwater reservoir in the water surface area.
The surface area of \u200b\u200bthe lake top is 82,414 square kilometers.
Lake top contains 10% of all fresh surface water on Earth.
The volume of water in the lake top is 11,600 cubic kilometers
SAMI deep point In the Lake of the Upper 406 meters from the surface.
More than 300 streams and rivers fall the lake top.
The average height of the lake top is about 602 meters above sea level.
The average visibility under water in the lake is 8.23 \u200b\u200bmeters, the maximum visibility at large depths is 30.4 meters.
The lake has a size of approximately 616 km long and 257 km in width.
Interesting fact: the difference between the sunset between Western and eastern coast The lake is 35 minutes.
Lake top is one of the youngest formations on the planet, the age of the lake is only about 10,000 years - starting with the last ice age.
For comparison, the second largest lake lake (along the surface area, and the largest in the world in the amount of water), - Lake Baikal in Russia, has age 25 million years.
Fifty-eight types of orchids are native to the lake top pool.
When European researchers visited the Lake Top in 1600, they reported a gigantic sturgeon long about 2.7 meters and saw a pike more than 2 meters long.
The average annual water temperature of the Lake is top 4.44 degrees Celsius. The lake rarely freezes completely - once every 20 years, if this happens, it hits for several hours. The latest full ice-coated lake top occurred in 1979.
On the lake itself big Island - Isle Royale, its sizes 72 km long and 14 km wide, on its territory there are also small lakes.
Currently, the lake is a transport arterier for ships carrying ore from mining areas to consumption areas, the length of the courts can reach 300 meters.
Despite the fact that the reservoir is a lake, there are storms that lead to shipwrecks.
Modern ships are built for exploitation on the lake, taking into account the possibility of swimming in storms. Previously, this was not taken into account. The last shipwreck on the lake was recorded in 1918, then during the storm disappeared the two French travelers.
As a result of the long history of the confrontation (at the time of bloody), the British, French and Americans, the water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake turned out to be divided between the two countries: the northeast is located in Canada, Western and South in the United States.
The lake was formed in an ancient tectonic wpadine of the Canadian crystal shield. Subsequently, glaciers were treated the whole area of \u200b\u200bthe lake basin, which in the literal sense of the word "disappeared" it in the thickness of ancient crystalline rocks. The exits of these breeds were preserved in the north, where the shores of the lake rocky and high: individual cliffs rise to a height of up to 400 m. In contrast to him south coast Predestly low-aluminated and sandy, treated with a glacier.
Large rivers in the upper lake are not falling, but small - about two hundred. The only river flows from the lake, Saint Meris, fast and thoroughly, flowing into the lake. Its value is very large. First, it forms a segment state border Between the province (Canada) and the state of Michigan (USA). Secondly, it is part of the shipping path in great lakes, and, in order to build it around her thresholds, had to build channels with gateways.
In general, the coastline of the upper lake is very cut, along the entire border of the lake - many bays and coves.
Due to the fact that the river stock into the lake is small, the water in it is transparent and cold: in the center of the reservoir, even in the summer, the temperature does not exceed + 4 ° C. Despite this, the center of the lake does not freeze, although winter here are harsh. The reason lies in strong autumn and winter storms, which, as the local Indians say, "do not give big water to fall asleep". But the entire coastal zone is covered with ice since the beginning of December until the end of April.
The upper lake is located in the zone of coniferous and mixed forests North America. Black and white spruce, balsamic fir, red and white pine predominate from coniferous rocks. Typical for the shores of the top lake Larithic breeds - birch, poplar, maple, beech, ash, linden and horse chestnut.
The first Europeans, in the 1620s. The French colonists have been french colonists for the coast of the Upper Lake, the hunters for the fur beast (Pereppers). They gave him the name Lac Superieur (top), as it was the most upstream in the system of the Great Lakes. Later in the United States and English-speaking Canada, this name is used as tracing with a French title: Lake Superieur- top.
Approximately at one time with the French on the banks of the upper lake appeared Spaniards, founded several Catholic missions, but could not be entrenched due to the lack of financial support from the King of Spain, in one of the letters called the "raw hole".
European first-settlements met eight Indian tribes, the biggest was the tribe of Ojibv, which settled in the Gulf of Chekumen. The Indians pushed European hunters, missionaries, and later - North American-Yankees, held for the development of iron ore and copper deposits. In the XIX century Here appeared railways And ports were built.
Currently, the industrial development of the region of the Upper Lake slowed down through the efforts of the defenders of nature, opposing any attempt to industrialize this edge of wonderful landscapes and pristine nature.
In American history textbooks and geography, the top lake is often referred to as the "golden link" in the chain of the Great Lakes, the related coast Atlantic Ocean with central regions of the country.
With all its beauty, the upper lake remains very complex and capricious with its sharp change of weather, sudden squalls and strong currents.
Most of the inhabitants of the Upper Lake are white, among them there are many descendants of the first-settlements - the British and French. Many immigrants from Scandinavia and Germany who came here in the XIX century. In search of work in mines and forestry. Indigenous inhabitants - Indians are very small, they live compact in settlements, less often - in port cities.
The upper lake was lucky compared to other great lakes: it was less than others suffered from industrial and agricultural pollution. The reason is not only in a variety of water protection programs, but also in the fact that agriculture on the shores did not get much development due to rocky soil, but very big cities It did not appear here, only a few ports.
In the area of \u200b\u200bthe Upper Lake of the Iron Ore and Copper field (on the Kiwino Peninsula in Michigan, USA) are under a watchful supervision of federal environmental services, and their value is no longer so big as a few decades ago.
Nevertheless, the upper lake is of economic importance, since it is an important link of the water path in great lakes. During the navigation ongoing about eight months, more than 20 thousand ships carrying passengers are held on the lake, container loads, wood. In the world classification, the specific type of "cargo ship of the Great Lakes" is separately highlighted, these are the greatest Nemora vessels in the world - a length of up to 300 m and width of over 30 m. Court, whose service life has become museums, on the top lake of such museums Two: "William L. Irwin" in Dlois and Meteor in Syuirior. The same neighbors cities were divided among themselves the largest port of the Great Lakes, called Twin-Port (twins port).
Also in the upper lake there are industrial fishing. Fish is very much - due to the purity of the waters and the absence of industrial flow. Siga, trout, sturgeon prevails.
The almost virgin nature of the neighborhood of the Upper Lake was retained in Ail-Royal National Parks (USA) and Pukaskua (Canada).
Ail-Royal is the name of the largest local island, 72 × 14 km. About 6 thousand years ago the Indians got copper here, and today roads and cars are prohibited here and is located national Park Isle Royal, founded back in 1940. The island is unique in that it has one more lake - Siskayuit, and quite large, about 20 km 2. In turn, there are several islands on the lake, including Ryan Island, on which there is a mower pond, and in it a major islands-boulders. Such a "natural matryoshka" is the result of the activities of ancient glaciation.
The apostle archipelago is part of a special environmental zone - a national lake coast, which includes more than 20 islands with located on them. historical lighthouses, underwater grots, relic forests and wildlife habitats.
A part of the American folklore was habits and lifestyle of the population on the shores of the upper lake, which is hardly readily reading and sports in the United States. A typical "lake" event is an annual skiing mileage "With a book through the Bay" (mileage organizes the library community). Every year, in February, in the snow, the frozen Bay of Chekumen, skiers and athletes in Indian snowshoes fleece. They intersect the 10-kilometer bay at night, with the light of stars and thousands of candles installed directly in the snow.
general information
Location: Central Plains of North America.State Affiliation: On the border of the United States and Canada.
Large Islands: Isle Royal, Madeleine, Apostol Archipelago (USA).
Large bays: Kivino (USA), Whitefish (Canada, USA)
City-ports: Tander Bay (Ontario, Canada) - 108 359 people. (2011), Dulut (Minnesota, USA) - 86,265 people (2010), Syupirior (Wisconsin, USA) - 27,244 people (2010).
Languages: English, French, Languages \u200b\u200bof Indians.
Ethnic composition: White - about 95%, Others - 5% (2014 g).
Religions: Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantia), Judaism.
Origin: tectonic.
Water balance: Singing (follows the Saint Meriss River).
Mineralization: Fresh.
Food: River, Rain, Groundwater.
Coastal territories: In the north - Ontario Province (Canada), in the West - Minnesota (USA), in the south - states of Wisconsin and Michigan (USA)
Numbers
Area: 82.1 thousand km 2 (54 thousand km 2 - USA; 28.1 thousand km 2 - Canada).Volume: 11.6 thousand km 3.
Length: 613 km.
Width: 256 km.
Shore Length: 2938 km.
Maximum depth: 406 m.
Average depth: 147 m.
Pool area: 127 700 km 2.
Height above sea level: 183 m.
Population size: 425 548 people. (USA, 2011), 181,573 people. (Canada, 2014).
Climate and weather
Wet continental.The average temperature of January: -15 ° С.
The average temperature of July: + 17 ° С.
The average annual amount of precipitation: about 580 mm.
Relative humidity: 65-75%.
Economy
Minerals: Iron, copper.Industry: Mining, Shipbuilding and ship repair, Food (fish processing), Easy (woodworking).
Agriculture: Crop (wheat, potatoes), animal husbandry (dairy meat).
Hydroelectric energy.
Lake shipping (Twin-port - Duluth and Suipirior, cargo turnover over 40 metric tons in 2002).
Fishing.
Services sector: Transport, trade, tourist ones.
sights
Natural
National Parks Ail-Royal (USA) and Pukaskua (Canada), National Ozernaya Coast of the Island of Apostles (USA), Isle of Isle Royal with Lake Siskiuit, Saint Meris River.
Duluth
Lake Twin-Port (Port Twins), Dulutsk Shipping Channel (1871), Historical Central Secondary School (1892), Vertical-Lifting Bridge "Aerolypt" (1905), cargo lake ship-museum "William L. Irvin "(Built in 1938, Museum since 1978), Aquarium" Great Lakes "(2000).
Thunder Bay
Historic Park Fort William (1815, 1973), Port Arthur, "Sleeping Giant" (Dining Mountains), Amethyst Copy.
Curious facts
■ In the language of the Yuzyr Tribe Indians, the upper lake is called Gichigami, which means "big water". American poet Henry Longfello (1807-1882) in his famous poem "Song about Gayavate", based on the Indian folklore, mentioned the upper lake with his "indigenous" name: "On the coastal guitchi gum, light waters Big Sea... "(per. I. Bunin).■ the neighborhood of Isle Isle-Royal - the most dangerous place For shipping on the entire top lake. There is a very complex network of insidious treasures, a plurality of underwater cliffs with jested vertices and sudden storms raising high waves. Since the island is located on the main shipping path, the number of drowned vessels in this area is still accurate and not established.
■ Saint Marys River, resulting from the top lake and partially forming a Canadian-American border, divides the once unified city of Su-Saint-Marie to the American part in Michigan and Canadian in Ontario province.
■ The water level in the upper lake fluctuates, as there are channels intended for shipping and hydropower, and the water level is regulated. However, these barely reaches 1.1m: seasonal changes are 40-60 cm with winter minima and summer maximum.
■ The name of the most common fish in the upper lake is whitefish, it is literally translated as "white fish". However, in North America, not all representatives of the salmon family, but only one of his genus - Sig.
■ On the island of Isle-Royal, a stag of thirty wolves and thousands of moose and that zoologists consider extremely surprising, there are no bears at all. The number of moose is preserved due to the fact that the moose is very cold and hungry winter migrate on ice on the island from the Canadian coast of the upper lake.
■ According to the legend of the Indian tribe, "Sleepy Giant" - elongated cutlery mountains in the Tander Bay area - once was a living giant named Nanabij. And in the stone he addressed the will of God Ojibweev, after he gave him white migrants the location of the rich silver field, which exists in reality and is called a silver island.
■ During the storm, the wind raises on the upper wave lake with a height of up to 9 m.
The lake appeared about 4,000 years ago as a result of melting ice and today is at an altitude of 183.5 meters above sea level. The lake is a gigantic reservoir with a total area of \u200b\u200b82,400 square kilometers. Top (Lake Superior) - most big Lake In the Great Lakes system in North America (North America), the world's largest lake in Square - except for the Caspian Sea (Caspian SEA), and the third freshwater lake in the world in terms of water. The maximum volume of the upper is 12,100 cubic kilometers. This is enough to fill with water all other lakes in the system - Michigan (Lake Huron), Guron and Ontario (Lake Ontario), and will still stay on two Lakes Erie. Lake top is inferior to the volume of only Russian Baikal (Lake Baikal), deep lake On the planet, and the African Tanganyika (Lake Tanganyika), the borders of the four states converge.
The northern border of the lake top divide Canadian Province Ontario (Ontario) and american State Minnesota, USA. In the southern borders of the top there are Wisconsin (Wisconsin) and Michigan (Michigan).
The lake appeared about 4,000 years ago as a result of melting ice and today is at an altitude of 183.5 meters above sea level. The lake is a gigantic reservoir with a total area of \u200b\u200b82,400 square kilometers.
The maximum depth of the top is 406 meters, the average - 147 meters, which makes it one of the deepests - and the coldest! - Lakes of North America, but in the world list of the most deep lakes The top takes only the 36th place. The maximum top length is 563 kilometers, the maximum width is 257 kilometers. In this area, so much fresh water is stored that it is enough to cover both America with a layer of water in a depth of 30 centimeters. Upper coastline is estimated at 4387 kilometers, if you consider its island.
Lake top freezes from December to April. The most important ports on the lake are Eshland (Ashland) and Duluth (Duluth) in the United States and Thunder Bay in Canada (Canada). Clean fresh water is the reason that several national parks and protected areas are located around the lake, including Isle Royale Park, located on the island with the same name and owned by Michigan, and Canadian Pukaskua Park (Pukaskwa National Park).
In the language of the Indian Ojibv, the name of the lake sounds like "gichigami", which is translated as "big water". The first French researchers who reached the shores of this extensive inner sea along the Ottawa River (Ottawa River) and Lake Huron in the 17th century, gave him modern name. True, in French "Le Lac Supérieur" meant "The Highest Lake", since the top is located in the system above Lake Huron. Jesuits missionaries also called him "Lac Tracy". When the British approved in North America, the lake retained the French name adapted to the English language.
The lake of more than 200 rivers feed, and the largest among them are NIPIGON River, St. Louis (St. Louis River), Pigeon River, Peak (Pic River), White River and others.
Meanwhile, the water of the lake nourish Huron across the Saint Meris River (St. Marys River). The largest of the islands of the lake - Isle Royal, and there are several lakes on the island, on which, in turn, there are also internal islets. Other large Island, Madeline Island, belongs to Wisconsin, and Mishipikoten (Michipicoten) - to Ontario province.
Through the top passes many shipping routes, and on the bottom it is hundreds of sunken ships, as strong 
Storms are not uncommon on the lake. Especially many vessels died near Cape Whitefish (Cape Whitefish), the surroundings of which are known as the "Tomb of the Great Lakes". In addition, the local say that the upper rarely gives its dead, bearing in mind that the lake is very cold, and the low temperature suppresses the growth of bacteria, as a result of which the body has no chance to float to the surface.
One of the most invaluable riches of the lake top is his fish - more than 80 species of fish in the upper lives, including valuable commercial, such as trout, Sig, Salmon, Sazan, sturgeon, freshwater herring and many others. Some of them accidentally or specifically bred in the lake.
On the shores of the lake top - many places intended for recreation and tourist trips. One of them is a provincial park with the same name as the lake. The park covers an area of \u200b\u200bapproximately 600 square kilometers in Ontario province and includes several bays that have been built hundreds of campgrounds. Most of the tourist objects work only in the summer, but scientific research is conducted here all year round.
Information
- Country: USA, Canada
- Height above sea level: 183 M.
- Length: 563 km
- Width: 257 km
- Square: 82 700 km²
- Volume: 12,000 km³
- Shore Length: 4385 km
- The greatest depth: 406 M.
- Medium depth: 147 M.
- Mineralization type: fresh
- Waterboat area: 127 700 km²
- Blowing river: Napigon
- Cutting river: Saint Mary
Fresh reservoir with the highest square is the upper lake. Location - North America. 82.4 thousand square kilometers occupies the area of \u200b\u200bits water mirror. The lake is located on 3 place in terms of fresh water on our planet, and it is inferior in terms of indicators only Baikal and Tanganic. The content in the lake is 11.6 thousand km 3. The depth on average - 147 m, the largest - 406 m.
Great Lakes
Where is the lake top on the map of the North American continent? It is located in the territories of the United States and Canada. The upper lake is one of the link from the chain of freshwater reservoirs, which are located in the east of North America between Canada and the United States. The system consists of five lakes: upper, guron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. And only Michigan fully belongs to the United States.
Other lakes are separated by the border. In Canada, the upper lake is located in the province of Ontario. On the West Bank of the Lake is located Minnesota. In the southwestern State of Wisconsin. The southern coast is in
The length of the coastline is 4387 km. Loose lake - 560 km. In the width reaches 260 km. The line of the shore is cut by bays and bays. On the north shore - rocks and cliffs. BUT south coast has a flat terrain.
Connections
The upper lake is considered the second largest globe And, as already mentioned, the greatest fresh reservoir in the world and the United States. It concludes the path from the Atlantic Ocean inside the continent. All the great lakes with each other are associated with rivers and channels. The top is inextricably linked with Lake Huron River Saint Marys, the length of which is about 112 km. It has a large number of thresholds and focus, in these places it is not suitable for shipping. It is because channels created by the thresholds. The upper lake is still reported to the Canadian lake NIPIGA through a small river.
Appearance
The bowl of the lake has the appearance of tectonic origin. because of large number Earthquakes appeared deep faults. The bottom of the lake leveled glaciers, completing the work started by earthquakes. As a suggestion of scientists, about 30 thousand years ago, North America in the eastern regions was covered with glaciers who came here from the north. These glaciers were inconstant. They moved to the north, leaving behind the lake bowls, they came here again. When the glaciers finally left the territory of the eastern regions of the continent, in this place there was a huge lake, which received the name of Algonquin in modern science. On the area it was very large and presumably exceeded the dimensions of the Baikal 10 times. It existed this lake for a short time. After some time, a lot of water was gone, which filled and after a few millennia, great lakes appeared at this place.
Uniqueness
These famous lakes are considered one of the great wonders of the planet. They are unique. The lakes form a hydrographic community, and very extensive, differing from the rest of the world lakes, water volumes and the coastline configuration. They are 500 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean and 700 km from the Hudson Strait. They are the largest lake system of North America, located in the upper and middle part of the basin of the River of St. Lawrence.
"Sea Road"
Great lakes are one of the main shipping routes in the east of North America. To get from the port of Duluth on the top lake to the source of the River of St. Lawrence, it is necessary to overcome the path of more than 2000 km. The upper lake is the most alpine - 183.6 meters above sea level. The water is powered and water that bear rivers.
Upper lake Single or faceless?
Let's try to figure it out in this matter. The lake is a wastewater, its drain occurs through the Saint Marys River. From December to April in the coastal areas there is an ice station. The water level falls in the lake. The sediments are also rare at this time, so there is no sufficient amount of water to maintain a level in the lake.
The minimum level is usually in March-April. Then the ambient temperature rises, and coastal snow begin to melt. The rivers are rapidly filled with water, and this leads to an increase in its level in the lake.
The largest volume of water in the top is observed in the summer, just at this time go
abundant rains. The level oscillation does not exceed 1 m, but sometimes it happens more. This is mainly not due to the flow of water, but due to the movement of the mass of air.
Seishi.
The upper lake is not protected mountain ridgesSo the winds that come from the mainland or from the ocean are freely raised, becoming the cause of unrest on the reservoir.
Here you can observe frequent for this place Phenomenon - seishium. Giant waves They are formed on the surface of the lake, which leads to the collapse of the coast. The top lake is colder than all other great lakes. In summer, water warms no more than 12 degrees. And at the depth, it is almost constantly about 4 degrees.
Nutrition of lakes
In the lake, the top drops more than 200 rivers. Napiga is one of them, it is 48 km long, and the width is from 50 to 200 m. It is impossible not to remember the River Saint Louis, the length of which is 192 km. More rivers such as Piezhen, Broul, White, Stony. All of them are not more than 100 km long, but still contribute to the nutrition of the lake.
Islands
The top lake has the islands, some are enough - Isle Royal, it reaches 72 km, in width - 14 km. On the Great Lakes, he takes 2 place after the island of Manitulina on Lake Huron. Now Isle Roal is status national Parkon which ferries from the mainland go.
In the north of the lake is the island of Mishipikoten, his length is 27 km, width - 10 km. He is a kingdom wildlife. The 22 islands wearing the name of the island of the Apostle, belong to Wisconsin.
We also call the islands that are the national recreation area of \u200b\u200bMichigan. This is Madeline and Grand Island.
Conclusion
Near the lake there is a lot large cities, such as Duluth, Tander Bay, Marquette, Su-Saint-Marie. From this article you found out where the top lake is located. Read about the history of its occurrence. Met S. interesting facts, Arrange it on the map and received other information. We hope that you were interested.
