It is the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes and holds the right to be called the largest freshwater lake in the world. The northeastern part of the lake is located in Canada, and the western and southern parts of the lake are in the USA. The 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 the lake is 82,000 square kilometers, the greatest depth of the lake reaches 393 meters. The lake pit is of tectonic origin; the northern shores of the lake are covered with rocks reaching a height of 400 meters. 
In turn, the southern lake shore low and sandy. In Michigan, near the shores of the lake there are deposits of copper and iron ore. The St. Marys River, which is 112 kilometers long, flows out of the lake and connects Lake Superior with. The water in the lake is cold and clear; in the central part of the lake, even in the middle of summer, the water temperature does not exceed 4 degrees Celsius. The central part of the lake does not freeze due to raging autumn and winter storms; in turn, the coastal zone of the lake is covered with ice by the beginning of December and is free of ice by April. Lake Superior is part of the large Great Lakes waterway, which handles approximately 22,000 vessels during the eight months of navigation each year.
The total weight of transported cargo is about 130 million tons. The waters of the lake are rich in fish, including trout and sturgeon, which are produced industrially. Along the shores of the lake there are large ports in Canada: Fort William and Port Arthur, and in the USA, Ashland and Marquette. In the Ojibwe language, the lake is called Gichigami and translates to “big water.” In the 17th century, during the exploration of the lake by the French, it received the name “highest lake” because it was located above Lake Huron, and the name was later adopted by the British.
Big salt Lake is located in the USA, in the northwest in the state of Utah, at an altitude of 1280 meters above sea level, its area ranges from 2500 to 6000 square kilometers. The average depth of the lake is 4.5 – 7.5 meters, the greatest depth reaches 15 meters. Rivers such as the Bear, Jordan, Weber and many others flow into the lake. The predecessor of the lake is [...]
The largest freshwater lake in the world, by surface area - is lake superior, which is located in North America between the USA and Canada. Lake Superior was formed at the end of the second ice age. The theory of the formation of this lake looks like this: a huge mass of ice on the site of today’s lake, over tens of thousands of years, pushed through the earth’s crust and formed a depression - a depression, when the temperature on Earth began to rise - the glacier began to melt and filled this depression with water, turning into Lake Superior.
Characteristics of Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater body of water by surface area.
The surface area of Lake Superior is 82,414 square kilometers.
Lake Superior contains 10% of all fresh surface water on Earth.
The volume of water in Lake Superior is 11,600 cubic kilometers
The most deep point in Lake Superior 406 meters from the surface.
More than 300 streams and rivers flow into Lake Superior.
The average height of Lake Superior is about 602 meters above sea level.
The average visibility underwater in Lake Superior is 8.23 meters, the maximum visibility at greater depths is 30.4 meters.
The lake measures approximately 616 km long and 257 km wide.
Interesting fact: the difference in sunset time between Western and east coast lake is 35 minutes.
Lake Superior is one of the youngest formations on the planet, the age of the lake is only about 10,000 years - dating back to the last ice age.
For comparison, the second largest lake on Earth (by surface area, and the largest in the world by volume of water), Lake Baikal in Russia, is 25 million years old.
Fifty-eight species of orchids are native to the Lake Superior basin.
When European explorers visited Lake Superior in 1600, they reported giant sturgeon some 2.7 meters long and saw pike over 2 meters long.
The average annual water temperature of Lake Superior is 4.44 degrees Celsius. The lake rarely freezes completely - once every 20 years; if this happens, it thaws within a few hours. The last complete ice coverage of Lake Superior occurred in 1979.
The most on the lake big Island- Isle Royale, its dimensions are 72 km long and 14 km wide, there are also small lakes on its territory.
Currently, the lake is a transport artery for ships transporting ore from mining areas to consumption areas; the length of ships 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 use on the lake, taking into account the possibility of sailing in storms. Previously this was not taken into account. The last shipwreck on the lake was recorded in 1918, when two French minesweepers disappeared without a trace during a storm.
As a result of a long history of confrontation (at times bloody) between the British, French and Americans, the lake’s waters were divided between two countries: the northeastern part is in Canada, the western and southern parts are in the USA.
The lake was formed in an ancient tectonic depression of the Canadian Crystalline Shield. Subsequently, the entire area of the lake basin was processed by glaciers, which literally “plowed” it through the strata of ancient crystalline rocks. Outcrops of these rocks have been preserved in the north, where the shores of the lake are rocky and high: individual rocks rise to a height of up to 400 m. In contrast, South coast predominantly low-lying and sandy, glaciated.
Large rivers do not flow into Lake Superior, but there are about two hundred small ones. The only river flowing from the lake is the St. Marys, fast and rapids, flowing into the lake. Its significance is very great. Firstly, it forms a segment state border between the province (Canada) and the state of Michigan (USA). Secondly, it is part of the Great Lakes shipping route, and in order to bypass its rapids, canals with locks had to be built.
In general, the coastline of Lake Superior is very indented, with many bays and coves along the entire border of the lake.
Due to the fact that the river flow into the lake is small, the water in it is clear and cold: in the center of the reservoir, even in summer, the temperature does not exceed +4°C. Despite this, the center of the lake does not freeze, although winters here are harsh. The reason lies in strong autumn and winter storms, which, as the local Indians say, “do not give big water fall asleep". But the entire coastal zone is covered with ice from the beginning of December to the end of April.
The Upper Lake is located in a zone of coniferous and mixed forests North America. The dominant coniferous species are black and white spruce, balsam fir, and red and white pine. Deciduous species typical of the shores of Lake Superior are birch, poplar, maple, beech, ash, linden and horse chestnut.
The first Europeans, in the 1620s. who reached the shores of Lake Superior were French colonists - fur-bearing animal hunters (trappers). They gave it the name Lac Superieur (Upper), since it was the most upstream in the Great Lakes system. Later in the USA and English-speaking Canada this name is used as a tracing-paper from the French name: Lake Superieur - Upper.
Around the same time as the French, the Spaniards appeared on the shores of Lake Superior, founded several Catholic missions, but were unable to gain a foothold due to the lack of financial support from the King of Spain, who in one of his letters called these places a “damp hole.”
The European pioneers were met by eight Indian tribes, the largest being the Ojibwe tribe, which settled in Chequamegon Bay. The Indians were supplanted by European hunters, missionaries, and later by North Americans, the Yankees, who took up the development of iron ore and copper deposits. In the 19th century appeared here railways and ports were built.
Currently, industrial development in the Lake Superior region has slowed down thanks to the efforts of conservationists who oppose any attempt to industrialize this region of wonderful landscapes and pristine nature.
In American history and geography textbooks, Lake Superior is often referred to as the “golden link” in the chain of the Great Lakes that connected the coast Atlantic Ocean with the central regions of the country.
For all its beauty, Lake Superior remains very difficult and capricious with its sudden changes in weather, sudden squalls and strong currents.
Most of the inhabitants of the shores of Lake Superior are white, among them many are descendants of the first settlers - the British and French. There are many immigrants from Scandinavia and Germany who came here in the 19th century. looking for work in mines and logging. There are very few indigenous inhabitants - Indians; they live compactly in settlements, less often - in port cities.
Compared to the other Great Lakes, Lake Superior has been fortunate to suffer less from industrial and agricultural pollution. The reason is not only the many water protection programs, but also the fact that agriculture along the banks has not received much development due to the rocky soil, but very big cities They never appeared here, only a few ports.
Iron ore and copper deposits located in the Lake Superior region (on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, USA) are under the watchful eye of federal environmental authorities, and their importance is no longer as great as it was several decades ago.
However, Lake Superior is economically important because it is an important link in the Great Lakes waterway. During navigation, which lasts about eight months, more than 20 thousand ships pass through the lake, transporting mainly passengers, container cargo, and timber. In the worldwide classification, a specific type of “Great Lakes cargo ship” is separately identified; these are the largest non-sea vessels in the world - up to 300 m long and over 30 m wide. Vessels that have reached the end of their service life have become museums; on Lake Superior there are such museum ships two: the William L. Irwin in Duluth and the Meteor in Superior. These same neighboring cities divided among themselves the largest port on the Great Lakes, called Twin Port.
Commercial fishing is also carried out in Lake Superior. There are a lot of fish - due to the purity of the waters and the lack of industrial runoff. Fishing for whitefish, trout, and sturgeon predominates.
The almost virgin nature of the surroundings of Lake Superior has been preserved in the Isle Royale (USA) and Pukaskua (Canada) national parks.
Isle Royale is the name of the largest island here, measuring 72x14 km. About 6 thousand years ago, the Indians mined copper here, but today roads and cars are prohibited here and there is national park Isle Royale, founded back in 1940. The island is unique in that it has another lake - Siskiwit, which is quite large, with an area of about 20 km 2. In turn, there are several islands on the lake, including Ryan Island, on which there is an Elk Pond, and in it there are large boulder islands. This “natural nesting doll” is the result of ancient glaciation.
The Archipelago of the Apostles is part of a special environmental zone - the national lake coast, which includes more than 20 islands with historical lighthouses, underwater grottoes, relict forests and habitats of wild animals.
The habits and lifestyle of the population on the shores of Lake Superior, considered perhaps the most well-read and athletic in the United States, have become part of American folklore. A typically “lake” event is the annual ski run “Across the Bay with a Book” (the run is organized by the library community). Every year in February, skiers and athletes in Indian snowshoes run across the snow covering the frozen Chequamegon Bay. They cross the 10-kilometer bay at night, by the light of the stars and thousands of candles set directly in the snow.
general information
Location: central plains of North America.Nationality: On the border of the USA and Canada.
Large islands: Isle Royale, Madeleine, Apostle Islands (USA).
Large bays: Keweenaw (USA), Whitefish (Canada, USA)
Port cities: Thunder Bay (Ontario, Canada) - 108,359 people. (2011), Duluth (Minnesota, USA) - 86,265 people (2010), Superior (Wisconsin, USA) - 27,244 people (2010).
Languages: English, French, Indian languages.
Ethnic composition: white - about 95%, others - 5% (2014).
Religions: Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism), Judaism.
Origin: tectonic.
Water balance: wastewater (outflowing from the St. Marys River).
Mineralization: fresh.
Food: river, rain, groundwater.
Coastal areas: in the north - the province of Ontario (Canada), in the west - the state of Minnesota (USA), in the south - the 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.
Length coastline
: 2938 km.
Maximum depth: 406 m.
Average depth: 147 m.
Pool area: 127,700 km 2 .
Height above sea level: 183 m.
Population: 425,548 people (USA, 2011), 181,573 people. (Canada, 2014).
Climate and weather
Humid continental.Average January temperature: -15°C.
Average temperature in July: +17°C.
Average annual precipitation: about 580 mm.
Relative humidity: 65-75%.
Economy
Minerals: iron, copper.Industry: mining, shipbuilding and ship repair, food (fish processing), light (woodworking).
Agriculture: crop farming (wheat, potatoes), livestock farming (meat and dairy).
Hydroelectric power.
Lake shipping(Twin ports - Duluth and Superior, handling over 40 metric tons in 2002).
Fishing.
Services sector: transport, trade, tourism.
Attractions
Natural
Isle Royale (USA) and Pukaskua (Canada) national parks, Apostles Island National Lakeshore (USA), Isle Royale Island with Lake Siskiwit, St. Marys River.
Duluth
Twin Lakes Port, Duluth Ship Canal (1871), Historic Central High School (1892), Airlift Lift Bridge (1905), William L. Irwin Lake Cargo Museum "(built in 1938, museum since 1978), Great Lakes Aquarium (2000).
Thunder Bay
Fort William Historical Park (1815, 1973), Port Arthur, Sleeping Giant (mesa), amethyst mines.
Curious facts
■ In the Ojibwe language, Lake Superior is called Gichigami, which means “Big Water.” The American poet Henry Longfellow (1807-1882), in his famous poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” based on Indian folklore, mentioned Lake Superior with its “indigenous” name: “On the shores of Gitchi-Gumi, bright waters Big Sea..." (translated by I. Bunin).■ The surrounding area of Isle Royale is the most dangerous place for navigation on all of Lake Superior. There is a very complex network of treacherous currents, many underwater cliffs with jagged peaks and sudden storms that raise high waves. Since the island is located on the main shipping route, the number of sunken ships in the area has not yet been accurately determined.
■ The St. Marys River, flowing from Lake Superior and partly forming the Canada-U.S. border, divides the once unified city of Sault Ste. Marie into an American part in Michigan and a Canadian part in Ontario.
■ Water levels in Lake Superior fluctuate because canals for shipping and hydroelectric power run nearby and the water level is regulated. However, these fluctuations barely reach 1.1 m: seasonal changes are 40-60 cm with a winter minimum and a summer maximum.
■ The name of the most common fish in Lake Superior is whitefish, which literally translates as “white fish.” However, in North America, not all representatives of the salmon family are called this way, but only one of its genus - whitefish.
■ On Isle Royale Island, a pack of thirty wolves and a thousand moose strangely coexist and, what zoologists consider extremely surprising, there are no bears at all. The moose population is maintained due to the fact that during particularly cold and hungry winters, moose migrate across the ice to the island from the Canadian shore of Lake Superior.
■ According to Ojibwe legend, the "Sleeping Giant" - the elongated mesas in the Thunder Bay region - was once a living giant named Nanabijou. And he turned to stone by the will of the Ojibway god, after he gave the white settlers the location of a rich deposit of silver, which actually exists and is called Silver Island.
■ During a storm, the wind raises waves up to 9 m high on Lake Superior.
The lake appeared about 4,000 years ago as a result of melting ice and today is located at an altitude of 183.5 meters above sea level. The lake is a giant reservoir with with total area 82,400 square kilometers. Upper (Lake Superior) – the most big lake in the Great Lakes system in North America, the world's largest lake by area - not counting the Caspian Sea - and the third largest in the world freshwater lake by volume of water. The maximum volume of Verkhny is 12,100 cubic kilometers. That's enough to fill all the other lakes in the system - Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario - and still have enough left over for two Lake Erie. Lake Superior is second in volume only to Russian Lake Baikal, the most deep lake on the planet, and African Tanganyika (Lake Tanganyika), off the coast of which the borders of four states converge.
The northern border of Lake Superior is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario and American state Minnesota (Minnesota, USA). On southern borders The top states are Wisconsin and Michigan.
The lake appeared about 4,000 years ago as a result of melting ice and today is located at an altitude of 183.5 meters above sea level. The lake is a giant body of water with a total area of 82,400 square kilometers.
The maximum depth of Verkhny is 406 meters, the average is 147 meters, which makes it one of the deepest - and coldest! - lakes of North America, however, in the world list of the most deep lakes The top one ranks only 36th. The maximum length of Verkhny is 563 kilometers, the maximum width is 257 kilometers. This area stores so much fresh water that it is enough to cover both Americas with a layer of water 30 centimeters deep. The coastline of Verkhniy is estimated at 4,387 kilometers, if you count its islands.
Lake Superior freezes from December to April. The most important ports on the lake are Ashland and Duluth in the USA and Thunder Bay in Canada. Clean fresh water is the reason why there are several national parks and protected areas, including Isle Royale Park, located on the island of the same name and owned by the state of Michigan, and the Canadian Pukaskwa National Park.
In the language of the Ojibwe Indians, the name of the lake sounds like “Gichigami”, which translates as “big water”. The first French explorers to reach the shores of this vast inland sea via the Ottawa River and Lake Huron in the 17th century gave it modern name. True, in French “le lac supérieur” meant “the highest lake,” since Superior is located in the system above Lake Huron. Jesuit missionaries also called it "Lac Tracy". When the British established themselves in North America, the lake retained its French name, adapted to English.
More than 200 rivers feed the lake, and the largest among them are the Nipigon River, St. Louis River, Pigeon River, Pic River, White River and others.
Meanwhile, the lake's waters feed Huron through the St. Marys River. The largest of the islands in the lake is Isle Royale, and the island has several lakes, which, in turn, also have internal islands. Another large island, Madeline Island, belongs to the state of Wisconsin, and Michipicoten, to the province of Ontario.
Many shipping routes pass through Verkhneye, and at its bottom lie hundreds of sunken ships, because strong 
storms are not uncommon on the lake. A particularly large number of ships were lost near Cape Whitefish, the area around which is known as the “tomb of the Great Lakes.” In addition, locals say that Verkhneye rarely gives up its dead, meaning 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 of floating to the surface.
One of the most priceless riches of Lake Superior is its fish - more than 80 species of fish live in Verkhny, including valuable commercial ones such as trout, whitefish, salmon, carp, sturgeon, freshwater herring and many others. Some of them are accidentally or specially bred in the lake.
Along the shores of Lake Verkhnee there are 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 approximately 600 square kilometers in Ontario and includes several bays where hundreds of campsites have been built. Most of the tourist sites are open only in the summer, but scientific research is carried out here all year round.
Information
- Countries: USA, Canada
- Height above sea level: 183 m
- Length: 563 km
- Width: 257 km
- Square: 82,700 km²
- Volume: 12,000 km³
- Coastline length: 4385 km
- Greatest depth: 406 m
- Average depth: 147 m
- Type of mineralization: fresh
- Catchment area: 127,700 km²
- Flowing river: Nipigon
- Flowing river: St Mary's
The freshwater body of water with the largest area is Lake Superior. Location - North America. The area of its water surface covers 82.4 thousand square kilometers. The lake is in 3rd place in terms of volume of fresh water on our planet, and in terms of indicators it is second only to Baikal and Tanganyika. The content in the lake is 11.6 thousand km 3. The average depth is 147 m, the greatest is 406 m.
Great Lakes
Where is Lake Superior located on the map of the North American continent? It is located in the United States and Canada. Lake Superior is one of a chain of freshwater bodies of water located in eastern North America between Canada and the United States. The system consists of five lakes: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. And only Michigan belongs entirely to the United States.
Other lakes are separated by a border. In Canada, Lake Superior is located in the province of Ontario. The state of Minnesota is located on the western shore of the lake. In the southwest is the state of Wisconsin. The south coast is in
The length of the coastline is 4387 km. The length of the lake is 560 km. It reaches a width of 260 km. The coastline is indented with bays and bays. On the northern shore there are rocks and cliffs. A South coast has flat terrain.
Connections
Lake Superior is considered the second largest in the world. globe and, as already mentioned, the largest freshwater body of water in the world and the USA. It completes the journey from the Atlantic Ocean into the continent. All the Great Lakes are connected to each other by rivers and canals. Upper Lake is inextricably linked to Lake Huron by the St. Marys River, which is about 112 km long. It has a large number of rapids and rifts; in these places it is not suitable for navigation. That is why channels were created to bypass the thresholds. Lake Superior is also connected to Canadian Lake Nipigon through a small river.
Emergence
The bowl of the lake looks like a depression of tectonic origin. Because of large quantity earthquakes caused deep faults to appear. The bottom of the lake was leveled by glaciers, completing the work begun by the earthquakes. According to scientists, about 30 thousand years ago, North America in the eastern regions was covered with glaciers that came here from the north. These glaciers were not permanent. They either moved north, leaving behind lake bowls, or came here again. When the glaciers finally left the territory of the eastern regions of the continent, a huge lake, which in modern science has received the name Algonquin. It was very large in area and supposedly exceeded the size of Lake Baikal by 10 times. This lake did not last long. After some time, a lot of water left, which filled And after several thousand years, the Great Lakes appeared in 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 a very extensive one, differing from other world lakes in size, volume of water and shoreline configuration. They are located 500 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean and 700 km from the Hudson Strait. They represent the largest lake system in North America, located in the upper and middle St. Lawrence River basin.
"Sea Road"
The Great Lakes are one of the major shipping routes in eastern North America. To get from the port of Duluth on Lake Superior to the source of the St. Lawrence River, you need to cover a path of more than 2000 km. The Upper Lake is the most mountainous - 183.6 meters above sea level. The reservoir is also fed by the waters carried by rivers.
Is Lake Superior drainage or drainless?
Let's try to understand this issue. The lake is a drainage lake, its discharge occurs through the St. Marys River. From December to April, freezing occurs in coastal areas. The water level in the lake is falling. Precipitation is also rare at this time, so a sufficient volume of water does not flow into the lake to maintain the level.
The minimum level is usually in March-April. Then the ambient temperature rises, and coastal snow begins to melt. The rivers quickly fill with water, and this leads to an increase in its level in the lake.
The largest volume of water in Verkhny is observed in the summer; it is at this time that
heavy rains. The level fluctuation does not exceed 1 m, but sometimes it can be more. This occurs mainly not due to the influx of water, but due to the movement of air masses.
Seiches
Lake Superior is not protected mountain ranges, therefore, the winds that come from the mainland or from the ocean roam freely, causing disturbances in the reservoir.
Here you can see frequent this place phenomenon - seiches. Giant waves are formed on the surface of the lake, which leads to the collapse of the shore. Lake Superior is colder than all the other Great Lakes. In summer, the water warms up by no more than 12 degrees. And at depth it is almost always about 4 degrees.
Lake food
More than 200 rivers flow into Lake Superior. Nipigon is one of them, it is 48 km long and 50 to 200 m wide. One cannot help but recall the St. Louis River, which is 192 km long. Other rivers such as Pigeon, Brul, Belaya, and Kamenistaya also flow into it. All of them are no more than 100 km in length, but still contribute to the nutrition of the lake.
Islands
Lake Superior also has islands, some of which are quite large - Isle Royale, which reaches 72 km in length and 14 km in width. On the Great Lakes it ranks 2nd after Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. Now Isle Royale has the status national park, which is served by ferries from the mainland.
In the north of the lake is the island of Mishipikoten, its length is 27 km, width - 10 km. He is the kingdom wildlife. 22 islands called the Apostle Islands belong to the state of Wisconsin.
We will also name the islands that are Michigan National Recreation Areas. This is Madeline and Grand Island.
Conclusion
Near the lake there are many major cities, such as Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie. From this article you learned where Lake Superior is located. We read about the history of its origin. Met with interesting facts, its location on the map and received other information. We hope you found it interesting.
