The Great Lakes — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior — contain 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface freshwater.
The Great Lakes are a geologically young system compared to the world’s oceans. The lakes began to take their present shape about 10,000 years ago.
The five Great Lakes are among the world’s 15 largest lakes.
Together, the Great Lakes cover more than 94,000 square miles (244,000 square kilometers) of surface area. That’s larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
The Great Lakes contain six quadrillion gallons (22.7 quadrillion liters) of freshwater — enough to submerge the entire continental United States in nearly 10 feet of water.
More than 3,500 species of plants and animals live in the Great Lakes basin.
More than 170 species of fish inhabit the Great Lakes, their tributaries, and connecting waterways.
Total length of the Great Lakes shoreline (including islands) is about 11,000 miles.
Approximately 34 million people — 24 million in the United States and about 9.8 million in Canada — live in the Great Lakes basin. That’s about eight percent of the U.S. population and about 32 percent of Canada’s.
Sources:
The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery MICHU #03-400
