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Lake Superior

December 30, 2022

For other uses, see Lake Superior (disambiguation).

Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area[a] and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh water.[12] The northern and westernmost of the Great Lakes of North America, it straddles the Canada–United States border with the province of Ontario to the north and east, and the states of Minnesota to the northwest and Wisconsin and Michigan to the south.[13] It drains into Lake Huron via St. Marys River, then through the lower Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean.

Lake Superior
Lake Superior taken from the International Space Station on June 6, 2019
Lake Superior
Lake Superior bathymetric map.[1][2][3] The deepest point, roughly off its southeastern shore, is marked with "×".[4] The deep trenches in its eastern part may have originated from tunnel valleys.[5][6]
LocationNorth America
GroupGreat Lakes
Coordinates47°42′N 87°30′W / 47.7°N 87.5°W / 47.7; -87.5 (Lake Superior)Coordinates: 47°42′N 87°30′W / 47.7°N 87.5°W / 47.7; -87.5 (Lake Superior)
Lake typeGlacial
Native nameGitche-Gumee (Ojibwe)
Primary inflowsNipigon, St. Louis, Pigeon, Pic, White, Michipicoten, Kaministiquia, Ontonagon, Tahquamenon Rivers
Primary outflowsSt. Marys River
Catchment area49,300 sq mi (128,000 km2)[7]
Basin countriesCanada and the United States
Max. length350 mi (560 km)[8]
Max. width160 mi (260 km)[8]
Surface area31,700 sq mi (82,000 km2)[7]
Average depth483 ft (147 m)[7]
Max. depth1,333 ft (406 m)[7][9]
Water volume2,900 cu mi (12,000 km3)[7]
Residence time191 years
Shore length11,729 mi (2,783 km) plus 997 mi (1,605 km) for islands[10]
Surface elevation601.71 ft (183 m) (2013 average)[11]
IslandsIsle Royale, Apostle Islands, Michipicoten Island, Grand Island, Slate Islands
Settlements
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Name

 
False color view of Lake Superior as seen by the AVHRR instrument onboard MetOp-B. Made in a 221 composition, so colors are approximate. Received by an amateur station via the HRPT downlink with a 1m parabolic antenna.
 
Map of Great Lakes (Lake Superior in darker blue)

The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi-gami (in syllabics: ᑭᒋᑲᒥ, pronounced gitchi-gami or kitchi-gami in different dialects),[14] meaning "great sea". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as "Gitche Gumee" in the poem The Song of Hiawatha, as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

According to other sources, the full Ojibwe name is ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Ojibwe Gichigami ("Ojibwe's Great Sea") or ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Anishinaabe Gichigami ("Anishinaabe's Great Sea").[15] The 1878 dictionary by Father Frederic Baraga, the first one written for the Ojibway language, gives the Ojibwe name as Otchipwe-kitchi-gami (a transliteration of Ojibwe Gichigami).[14]

In the 17th century, the first French explorers approached the great inland sea by way of the Ottawa River and Lake Huron; they referred to their discovery as le lac supérieur (the upper lake, i.e. above Lake Huron). Some 17th-century Jesuit missionaries referred to it as Lac Tracy (for Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy).[16] After taking control of the region from the French in the 1760s following their defeat in the French and Indian War, the British anglicized the lake's name to Superior, "on account of its being superior in magnitude to any of the lakes on that vast continent".[17]

Hydrography

Lake Superior empties into Lake Huron via the St. Marys River and the Soo Locks (Sault Ste. Marie locks). Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world in area and the third largest in volume, behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. The Caspian Sea, while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume, is brackish. Though presently isolated, prehistorically the Caspian has been repeatedly connected to and then isolated from the Mediterranean via the Black Sea.

 
Lake Superior deepest point[4] on the bathymetric map.[1]

Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles (82,103 km2),[7] which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria. It has a maximum length of 350 statute miles (560 km; 300 nmi) and maximum breadth of 160 statute miles (257 km; 139 nmi).[8] Its average depth is 80.5 fathoms (483 ft; 147 m) with a maximum depth of 222.17 fathoms (1,333 ft; 406 m).[7][8][9] Lake Superior contains 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km³) of water.[7] There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America to a depth of 30 centimetres (12 in).[b] The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,726 miles (4,387 km) (including islands).[7]

American limnologist J. Val Klump was the first person to reach the lowest depth of Lake Superior on July 30, 1985, as part of a scientific expedition, which at 122 fathoms 1 foot (733 ft or 223 m) below sea level is the second-lowest spot in the continental interior of the United States and the third-lowest spot in the interior of the North American continent after Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (1,503 feet[458 m] below sea level) and Iliamna Lake in Alaska (942 feet [287 m] below sea level). (Though Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and deeper than Lake Superior, Crater Lake's elevation is higher and consequently its deepest point is 4,229 feet (1,289 m) above sea level.)

While the temperature of the surface of Lake Superior varies seasonally, the temperature below 110 fathoms (660 ft; 200 m) is an almost constant 39 °F (4 °C). This variation in temperature makes the lake seasonally stratified. Twice per year, however, the water column reaches a uniform temperature of 39 °F (4 °C) from top to bottom, and the lake waters thoroughly mix. This feature makes the lake dimictic. Because of its volume, Lake Superior has a retention time of 191 years.[18][19]

Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly feature wave heights of over 20 feet (6 m).[20] Waves well over 30 feet (9 m) have been recorded.[21]

Tributaries

 
Lake Superior basin

Lake Superior is fed by more than 200 rivers, including the Nipigon River, the St. Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the White River, the Michipicoten River, the Bois Brule River and the Kaministiquia River. The lake's outlet at St. Marys River has a relatively steep gradient with rapids. The Soo Locks enable ships to bypass the rapids and to overcome the 25-foot (8 m) height difference between Lakes Superior and Huron.

Water levels

 
A frozen Duluth Harbor Entrance

The lake's average surface elevation is 600 feet (183 m)[8][18] above sea level. Until approximately 1887, the natural hydraulic conveyance through the St. Marys River rapids determined the outflow from Lake Superior. By 1921, development in support of transportation and hydroelectric power resulted in gates, locks, power canals and other control structures completely spanning St. Marys rapids. The regulating structure is known as the Compensating Works and is operated according to a regulation plan known as Plan 1977-A. Water levels, including diversions of water from the Hudson Bay watershed, are regulated by the International Lake Superior Board of Control, which was established in 1914 by the International Joint Commission.

Lake Superior's water level was at a new record low in September 2007, slightly less than the previous record low in 1926.[22] Water levels recovered within a few days.[23]

Historic high water The lake's water level fluctuates from month to month, with the highest lake levels in October and November. The normal high-water mark is 1.17 feet (0.36 m) above datum (601.1 ft or 183.2 m). In the summer of 1985, Lake Superior reached its highest recorded level at 2.33 feet (0.71 m) above datum.[24] 2019 and 2020 set new high-water records in nearly every month.[24]

Historic low water The lake's lowest levels occur in March and April. The normal low-water mark is 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below datum. In the winter of 1926 Lake Superior reached its lowest recorded level at 1.58 feet (0.48 m) below datum.[24] Additionally, the entire first half of the year (January to June) included record low months. The low water was a continuation of the dropping lake levels from the previous year, 1925, which set low-water records for October through December. During the nine-month period of October 1925 to June 1926, water levels ranged from 1.58 feet (0.48 m) to 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below Chart Datum.[24] In the summer of 2007 monthly historic lows were set; August at 0.66 feet (0.20 m), September at 0.58 feet (0.18 m).[24]

Climate change

According to a study by professors at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Lake Superior may have warmed faster than its surrounding area.[25] Summer surface temperatures in the lake appeared to have increased by about 4.5 °F (2.5 °C) between 1979 and 2007, compared with an approximately 2.7 °F (1.5 °C) increase in the surrounding average air temperature. The increase in the lake's surface temperature may be related to the decreasing ice cover. Less winter ice cover allows more solar radiation to penetrate and warm the water. If trends continue, Lake Superior, which freezes over completely once every 20 years, could routinely be ice-free by 2040[26] although more current data through 2021 does not support this trend. [27]

Warmer temperatures could lead to more snow in the lake effect snow belts along the shores of the lake, especially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Two recent consecutive winters (2013–2014 and 2014–2015) brought high ice coverage to the Great Lakes, and on March 6, 2014, overall ice coverage peaked at 92.5%, the second-highest in recorded history.[28] Lake Superior's ice coverage further beat 2014's record in 2019, reaching 95% coverage.[29]

Geography

 
Lake Superior, by Walter Shirlaw

The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale in Michigan. Isle Royale contains several lakes, some of which also contain islands. Other well-known islands include Madeline Island in Wisconsin, Michipicoten Island in Ontario, and Grand Island (the location of the Grand Island National Recreation Area) in Michigan.

The larger cities on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Marquette, Michigan; and the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Duluth-Superior, at the western end of Lake Superior, is the most inland point on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the most inland port in the world.

Among the scenic places on the lake are Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Brockway Mountain Drive on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Isle Royale National Park, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Pukaskwa National Park, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Grand Island National Recreation Area, Sleeping Giant (Ontario) and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.[30]

Climate

Lake Superior's size reduces the severity of the seasons of its humid continental climate (more typically seen in locations like Nova Scotia).[31] The water surface's slow reaction to temperature changes, seasonally ranging between 32 and 55 °F (0–13 °C) around 1970,[32] helps to moderate surrounding air temperatures in the summer (cooler with frequent sea breeze formations) and winter, and creates lake-effect snow in colder months. The hills and mountains that border the lake hold moisture and fog, particularly in the fall.

Geology

 
Geological map of North America showing cratons and basement rocks. The Midcontinent Rift is in white, here labeled Keweenawan Rift. Lake Superior occupies the apex of the rift; the section to its north marked "SUPERIOR" is the Superior Craton

The rocks of Lake Superior's northern shore date back to the early history of the earth. During the Precambrian (between 4.5 billion and 540 million years ago) magma forcing its way to the surface created the intrusive granites of the Canadian Shield.[33] These ancient granites can be seen on the North Shore today. It was during the Penokean orogeny, part of the process that created the Great Lakes tectonic zone, that many valuable metals were deposited. The region surrounding the lake has proved to be rich in minerals, with copper, iron, silver, gold and nickel the most frequently mined. Notable production includes gold from the Hemlo mine near Marathon, copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula and the Mamainse Point Formation, iron from the Gogebic Range, silver at Silver Islet, and uranium at Theano Point.

The mountains steadily eroded, depositing layers of sediments that compacted and became limestone, dolomite, taconite and the shale at Kakabeka Falls. The continental crust was later riven, creating one of the deepest rifts in the world.[34] The lake lies in this long-extinct Mesoproterozoic rift valley, the Midcontinent Rift. Magma was injected between layers of sedimentary rock, forming diabase sills. This hard diabase protects the layers of sedimentary rock below, forming the flat-topped mesas in the Thunder Bay area. Amethyst formed in some of the cavities created by the Midcontinent Rift, and there are several amethyst mines in the Thunder Bay area.[35]

 
Basaltic columns along Lake Superior

Lava erupted from the rift and formed the black basalt rock of Michipicoten Island, Black Bay Peninsula, and St. Ignace Island.[citation needed]

In the most recent geological history, during the Wisconsin glaciation 10,000 years ago, ice covered the region at a thickness of 1.25 miles (2 km). The land contours familiar today were carved by the advance and retreat of the ice sheet. The retreat left gravel, sand, clay and boulder deposits. Glacial meltwaters gathered in the Superior basin creating Lake Minong, a precursor to Lake Superior.[36] Without the immense weight of the ice, the land rebounded, and a drainage outlet formed at Sault Ste. Marie, becoming today's St. Mary's River.

History

 
Historical map of Lake Superior and Northern Michigan, published 1879 by Rand McNally

The first people came to the Lake Superior region 10,000 years ago after the retreat of the glaciers in the Last Glacial Period. They are known as the Plano, and they used stone-tipped spears to hunt caribou on the northwestern side of Lake Minong. The Shield Archaic peoples arrived around 5000 BC; evidence of this culture can be found at the eastern and western ends of the Canadian shore. They used bows and arrows, paddled dugout canoes, fished, hunted, mined copper for tools and weapons, and established trading networks. They are believed to be the direct ancestors of the Ojibwe and Cree.[37] The people of the Laurel complex (c. 500 BC to AD 500) developed seine net fishing, evidence being found at rivers around Superior such as the Pic and Michipicoten. The people of the Terminal Woodland period were evident in the area from 900 AD to 1650. They were Algonquian peoples who hunted, fished and gathered berries. They used snowshoes, birch bark canoes and conical or domed lodges. At the mouth of the Michipicoten River, nine layers of encampments have been discovered. Most of the Pukaskwa Pits were likely made during this time.[37]

The Anishinaabe people, which includes the Ojibwe or Chippewa, have inhabited the Lake Superior region for over five hundred years and were preceded by the Dakota, Fox, Menominee, Nipigon, Noquet and Gros Ventres. After the arrival of Europeans, the Anishinaabe made themselves middle-men between the French fur traders and other Native peoples. They soon became the dominant Native American nation in the region: they forced out the Sioux and Fox and won a victory against the Iroquois west of Sault Ste. Marie in 1662. By the mid-18th century, the Ojibwe occupied all of Lake Superior's shores.[38]

 
Reconstructed Great Hall, Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota

In the 18th century, as the booming fur trade supplied Europe with beaver hats, the Hudson's Bay Company had a virtual monopoly in the region until 1783, when the rival North West Company was formed. The North West Company built forts on Lake Superior at Grand Portage, Fort William, Nipigon, the Pic River, the Michipicoten River, and Sault Ste. Marie. But by 1821, with competition harming the profits of both, the companies merged under the Hudson's Bay Company name. Many towns around the lake are current or former mining areas, or engaged in processing or shipping. Today, tourism is another significant industry: the sparsely populated Lake Superior country, with its rugged shorelines and wilderness, attracts vacationers and adventurers.

Shipping

 
"Ice blockade in Marquette Harbor, June 1873", stereoscopic photo

Lake Superior has been an important link in the Great Lakes Waterway, providing a route for the transportation of iron ore as well as grain and other mined and manufactured materials. Large cargo vessels called lake freighters, as well as smaller ocean-going freighters, transport these commodities across Lake Superior. Shipping was slow to arrive at Lake Superior in the 19th century. The first steamboat to run on the lake was the Independence in 1847, whereas the first steamers on the other Great Lakes began sailing in 1816.[39][40] Ice closes the lake shipping from mid-January to late March. Exact dates for the shipping season vary each year,[41] depending on weather conditions that form and break the ice.

Shipwrecks

See also: Great Storms of the North American Great Lakes, List of shipwrecks of Isle Royale, Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, and List of shipwrecks of western Lake Superior

The southern shore of Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Michigan, and Whitefish Point is known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes;" more ships have been lost around the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior.[42] These shipwrecks are now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve. Storms that claimed multiple ships include the Mataafa Storm in November 1905 and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913.

Wreckage of SS Cyprus—a 420-foot (130 m) ore carrier that sank on October 11, 1907, during a Lake Superior storm in 77 fathoms (460 ft or 140 m) of water—was located in August 2007. Built in Lorain, Ohio, Cyprus was launched August 17, 1907, and was lost on her second voyage hauling iron ore from Superior, Wisconsin, to Buffalo, New York, with the sole survivor among her 23 crew being Charles G. Pitz.[43] In 1918 the last warships to sink in the Great Lakes, French minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles, vanished in a Lake Superior storm, perhaps upon striking the uncharted danger of the Superior Shoal in an otherwise deep part of the lake. With 78 crewmembers dead, their sinking marked the largest loss of life on Lake Superior to date.

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the latest ship to sink in Lake Superior, 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) from Whitefish Point in a storm on November 10, 1975. The wreck was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". All 29 crew members died, and no bodies were recovered. Edmund Fitzgerald was battered so intensely by Lake Superior that the 729-foot (222 m) ship split in half; her two pieces lie approximately 170 feet (52 m) apart at a depth of 88 fathoms (530 ft or 160 m).

Lightfoot sings that "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead".[44] This is because of the unusually cold water, under 36 °F (2 °C) on average around 1970.[32] Normally, bacteria decaying a sunken body will bloat it with gas, causing it to float to the surface after a few days. But Lake Superior's water is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth, and bodies tend to sink and never resurface.[45] Joe MacInnis reported that in July 1994, explorer Frederick Shannon's Expedition 94 to the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald discovered a man's body near the port side of her pilothouse, not far from the open door, "fully clothed, wearing an orange life jacket, and lying face down in the sediment".[46]

 
Bedrock shoreline, Neys Provincial Park, Ontario

Ecology

More than 80 species of fish have been found in Lake Superior. Species native to the lake include banded killifish, bloater, brook trout, burbot, cisco, lake sturgeon, lake trout, lake whitefish, longnose sucker, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, round whitefish, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker and yellow perch. In addition, many fish species have been either intentionally or accidentally introduced to Lake Superior: Atlantic salmon, brown trout, carp, chinook salmon, coho salmon, freshwater drum, pink salmon, rainbow smelt, rainbow trout, round goby, ruffe, sea lamprey and white perch.[47][48]

Lake Superior has fewer dissolved nutrients relative to its water volume than the other Great Lakes and so is less productive in terms of fish populations and is an oligotrophic lake. This is a result of the underdeveloped soils found in its relatively small watershed.[18] It is also a reflection of relatively small human population and small amount of agriculture in its watershed. However, nitrate concentrations in the lake have been continuously rising for more than a century. They are still much lower than levels considered dangerous to human health; but this steady, long-term rise is an unusual record of environmental nitrogen buildup. It may relate to anthropogenic alternations to the regional nitrogen cycle, but researchers are still unsure of the causes of this change to the lake's ecology.[49]

As for other Great Lakes fish, populations have also been affected by the accidental or intentional introduction of foreign species such as the sea lamprey and Eurasian ruffe. Accidental introductions have occurred in part by the removal of natural barriers to navigation between the Great Lakes. Overfishing has also been a factor in the decline of fish populations.[13]

See also

General

Notes

  1. ^ The Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater.
  2. ^ North America (2.47×107 km²) and South America (1.78×107 km²) combined cover 4.26×107 km². Lake Superior's volume (1.20×104 km³) over 4.26×107 km² gives a depth of 0.282 m.

References

  1. ^ a b National Geophysical Data Center (1999). "Bathymetry of Lake Superior". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
    (the general reference to NGDC because this lake was never published, compilation of Great Lakes Bathymetry at NGDC has been suspended).
  2. ^ National Geophysical Data Center (1999). "Bathymetry of Lake Huron". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. doi:10.7289/V5G15XS5. Retrieved March 23, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) (only small portion of this map)
  3. ^ Hastings, D. & Dunbar, P.K. (1999). "Global Land One-Kilometer Base Elevation (GLOBE) v.1". National Geophysical Data Center. doi:10.7289/V52R3PMS. Retrieved March 16, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  5. ^ Wright, H. E. Jr. (1973). Black, Robert Foster; Goldthwait, Richard Parker; Willman, Harold (eds.). "Tunnel Valleys, Glacial Surges, and Subglacial Hydrology of the Superior Lobe, Minnesota". Geological Society of America Memoirs. Geological Society of America Memoirs. Vol. 136. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America. pp. 251–276. doi:10.1130/MEM136-p251. ISBN 0813711363. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Regis, Robert S.; Jennings-Patterson, Carrie; Wattrus, Nigel & Rausch, Deborah (March 24–25, 2003). . North-Central Section 37th Annual Meeting. Kansas City, Missouri: The Geological Society of America. Paper No. 19-10. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i . United States Environmental Protection Agency. May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Great Lakes Atlas: Factsheet #1". United States Environmental Protection Agency. April 11, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Wright, John W., ed. (2006). The New York Times Almanac (2007 ed.). New York: Penguin Books. p. 64. ISBN 0-14-303820-6.
  10. ^ . Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015.
  11. ^ (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013. The link also has daily elevations for the current month.
  12. ^ Bencomo, Phil (October 6, 2015). "Just How Big is Lake Superior?". Lake Superior Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Minnesota Sea Grant. . University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  14. ^ a b "Kitchi-Gami Almanac: The Name". LakeSuperior.com. January 1, 2006.
  15. ^ Chisholm, Barbara & Gutsche, Andrea (1998). Under the Shadow of the Gods: A Guide to the History of the Canadian Shore of Lake Superior (1st ed.). Transcontinental Printing.
  16. ^ "Great Lakes Atlas". Environment Canada and United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1995.
  17. ^ Stewart, George R. (1945). Names on the Land, A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. p. 83.
  18. ^ a b c Minnesota Sea Grant. . University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  19. ^ Minnesota Sea Grant (October 15, 2014). . University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  20. ^ "The Fall Storm Season". National Weather Service. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  21. ^ Chisholm & Gutsche (1998), p. xiii.
  22. ^ . The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Associated Press. October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  23. ^ . Great Lakes Information Network. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  24. ^ a b c d e Detroit District (February 2021). Water Level Data. United States Army Corps of Engineers.
  25. ^ Marshall, Jessica (May 30, 2007). . New Scientist. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  26. ^ . The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Associated Press. June 4, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  27. ^ "Statistics". coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  28. ^ . Accuweather.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  29. ^ Meyers, John (March 16, 2019). "After Achieving 95 Percent Coverage, Lake Superior's Ice Breaking Up". Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minnesota. Forum News Service. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  30. ^ . Great-Lakes.net. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  31. ^ Phillips, David W. (1978). "Environmental Climatology of Lake Superior". Journal of Great Lakes Research. Vol. 4, no. 3–4. pp. 288–309. doi:10.1016/S0380-1330(78)72199-4.
  32. ^ a b Derecki, J. A. (July 1980). "NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL-29: Evaporation from Lake Superior" (PDF). Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. p. 37. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  33. ^ Harris, Ann G. (1977). Geology of National Parks (2nd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt. p. 200.
  34. ^ Linder, Douglas O. (2006). . Law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on November 5, 2005. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  35. ^ . Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2007.
  36. ^ Chisholm & Gutsche (1998), p. xv.
  37. ^ a b Chisholm & Gutsche (1998), p. xvi.
  38. ^ Chisholm & Gutsche (1998), p. xvii.
  39. ^ *Palmer, Richard F. (1988). First Steamboat on the Great Lakes (PDF). pp. 7–8.
  40. ^ *Bowen, Dana Thomas (1953). Great Lakes Ships and Shipping (PDF). Minnesota Historical Society. p. 9.
  41. ^ . Duluth Shipping News. January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2015. Another trip here was planned but has apparently been canceled, making this her last and 41st visit this season. Last year, without a late start due to ice, the Tregurtha was here 49 times.
  42. ^ Stonehouse, Frederick (1998) [1985]. Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios. p. 267. ISBN 0-932212-43-3.
  43. ^ "Century-Old Shipwreck Discovered: Ore Carrier Went Down in Lake Superior on Its Second Voyage". NBC News. Associated Press. September 10, 2007.
  44. ^ Kohl, Cris (1998). The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks. Vol. II. Seawolf Communications. p. 430. ISBN 0-9681437-3-3.
  45. ^ Chisholm & Gutsche (1998), p. xxxiv.
  46. ^ MacInnis, Joseph (1998). Fitzgerald's Storm: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Berkeley, California: Thunder Bay Press. p. 101. ISBN 1-882376-53-6.
  47. ^ Minnesota Sea Grant. "Lake Superior Fish Species". University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  48. ^ Minnesota 2009 fishing regulations. p. 23.[full citation needed]
  49. ^ Sterner, Robert W.; Anagnostou, Eleni; Brovold, Sandra; Bullerjahn, George S.; Finlay, Jacques C.; Kumar, Sanjeev; McKay, R. Michael L.; Sherrell, Robert M. (2007). "Increasing Stoichiometric Imbalance in North America's Largest Lake: Nitrification in Lake Superior" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 34, no. 10. pp. L10406. Bibcode:2007GeoRL..3410406S. doi:10.1029/2006GL028861.

Further reading

  • "America". The Daily Mining Gazette. Houghton, Michigan. June 8, 1928.
  • Burt, Williams A. & Hubbard, Bela (1846). Reports on the Mineral Region of Lake Superior. Buffalo: L. Danforth.
  • "Cumberland". Detroit Free Press. January 29, 1974.
  • Grady, Wayne (2007). The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region. Greystone Books.
  • Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (2006). . National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010.
  • Holdon, Thom (July–August 1977). "Reef of the Three C's". The Nor'easter. Vol. 2, no. 4. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Marine Museum.
  • ——— (May–August 1978). "Above and Below: Steamer America". The Nor'easter. Vol. 3, no. 3 & 4. Duluth, Minnesota: Lake Superior Marine Museum.
  • Hyde, Charles K.; Mahan, Ann & Mahan, John (1995). The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814325544.
  • Langston, Nancy (2017). Sustaining Lake Superior: An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
  • LeMay, Konnie (July 30, 2018). "Rockin' the Rift, The Billion-Year-Old Split that Made Us". Lake Superior Magazine.
  • Oleszewski, Wes (1998). Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios. ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
  • Penrod, John (1998). Lighthouses of Michigan. Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha. ISBN 978-0-942618-78-5.
  • Penrose, Laurie & Penrose, Bill (1999). A Traveler's Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses. Petoskey, Michigan: Friede Publications. ISBN 9780923756031.
  • Ralph, Julian (1890). Lake Superior along the south shore. New York: Press of American Bank Note Company.
  • Sims, P.K. & Carter, L.M.H., eds. (1996). Archean and Proterozoic Geology of the Lake Superior Region, U.S.A., 1993. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. Professional Paper 1556.
  • Splake, T. Kilgore (1984). Superior Land Lights. Battle Creek, Michigan: Angst Productions.
  • "S.S. George M. Cox Wrecked". The Daily Mining Gazette. Houghton, Michigan. May 28, 1933.
  • Stonehouse, Frederick (1974). Marquette Shipwrecks. Marquette, Michigan: Harboridge Press.
  • ——— (1977). Isle Royale Shipwrecks. Marquette, Michigan: Avery Color Studios.
  • United States Army Corps of Engineers (August 2007). "[Record Low Water Levels Expected on Lake Superior]".
  • Wagner, John L. (1998). Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective. East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner. ISBN 9781880311011.
  • "Wreck of Sidewheel Steamer Cumberland". Detroit Free Press. January 29, 1974.
  • Wright, Larry & Wright, Patricia (2006). Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia. Erin: Boston Mills Press. ISBN 1-55046-399-3.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Superior.
  •   Geographic data related to Lake Superior at OpenStreetMap
  • Lake Superior NOAA nautical chart #14961 online
  • EPA's Great Lakes Atlas
  • EPA's Great Lakes Atlas Factsheet #1
  • Great Lakes Coast Watch
  • Parks Canada - Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
  • Minnesota Sea Grant Lake Superior Page August 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  • Lake Superior Bathymetry January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  • Lake Superior Trials

December 30, 2022
lake, superior, other, uses, disambiguation, central, north, america, largest, freshwater, lake, world, surface, area, third, largest, volume, holding, world, surface, fresh, water, northern, westernmost, great, lakes, north, america, straddles, canada, united. For other uses see Lake Superior disambiguation Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area a and the third largest by volume holding 10 of the world s surface fresh water 12 The northern and westernmost of the Great Lakes of North America it straddles the Canada United States border with the province of Ontario to the north and east and the states of Minnesota to the northwest and Wisconsin and Michigan to the south 13 It drains into Lake Huron via St Marys River then through the lower Great Lakes to the St Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean Lake SuperiorLake Superior taken from the International Space Station on June 6 2019Lake SuperiorLake Superior bathymetric map 1 2 3 The deepest point roughly off its southeastern shore is marked with 4 The deep trenches in its eastern part may have originated from tunnel valleys 5 6 LocationNorth AmericaGroupGreat LakesCoordinates47 42 N 87 30 W 47 7 N 87 5 W 47 7 87 5 Lake Superior Coordinates 47 42 N 87 30 W 47 7 N 87 5 W 47 7 87 5 Lake Superior Lake typeGlacialNative nameGitche Gumee Ojibwe Primary inflowsNipigon St Louis Pigeon Pic White Michipicoten Kaministiquia Ontonagon Tahquamenon RiversPrimary outflowsSt Marys RiverCatchment area49 300 sq mi 128 000 km2 7 Basin countriesCanada and the United StatesMax length350 mi 560 km 8 Max width160 mi 260 km 8 Surface area31 700 sq mi 82 000 km2 7 Average depth483 ft 147 m 7 Max depth1 333 ft 406 m 7 9 Water volume2 900 cu mi 12 000 km3 7 Residence time191 yearsShore length11 729 mi 2 783 km plus 997 mi 1 605 km for islands 10 Surface elevation601 71 ft 183 m 2013 average 11 IslandsIsle Royale Apostle Islands Michipicoten Island Grand Island Slate IslandsSettlementsThunder Bay Ontario Duluth Minnesota Sault Ste Marie Ontario Marquette Michigan Superior Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Michigan1 Shore length is not a well defined measure Contents 1 Name 2 Hydrography 2 1 Tributaries 2 2 Water levels 2 3 Climate change 3 Geography 4 Climate 5 Geology 6 History 6 1 Shipping 6 2 Shipwrecks 7 Ecology 8 See also 8 1 General 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksName Edit False color view of Lake Superior as seen by the AVHRR instrument onboard MetOp B Made in a 221 composition so colors are approximate Received by an amateur station via the HRPT downlink with a 1m parabolic antenna Map of Great Lakes Lake Superior in darker blue The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi gami in syllabics ᑭᒋᑲᒥ pronounced gitchi gami or kitchi gami in different dialects 14 meaning great sea Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as Gitche Gumee in the poem The Song of Hiawatha as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald According to other sources the full Ojibwe name is ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Ojibwe Gichigami Ojibwe s Great Sea or ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Anishinaabe Gichigami Anishinaabe s Great Sea 15 The 1878 dictionary by Father Frederic Baraga the first one written for the Ojibway language gives the Ojibwe name as Otchipwe kitchi gami a transliteration of Ojibwe Gichigami 14 In the 17th century the first French explorers approached the great inland sea by way of the Ottawa River and Lake Huron they referred to their discovery as le lac superieur the upper lake i e above Lake Huron Some 17th century Jesuit missionaries referred to it as Lac Tracy for Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy 16 After taking control of the region from the French in the 1760s following their defeat in the French and Indian War the British anglicized the lake s name to Superior on account of its being superior in magnitude to any of the lakes on that vast continent 17 Hydrography EditLake Superior empties into Lake Huron via the St Marys River and the Soo Locks Sault Ste Marie locks Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world in area and the third largest in volume behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa The Caspian Sea while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume is brackish Though presently isolated prehistorically the Caspian has been repeatedly connected to and then isolated from the Mediterranean via the Black Sea Lake Superior deepest point 4 on the bathymetric map 1 Lake Superior has a surface area of 31 700 square miles 82 103 km2 7 which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria It has a maximum length of 350 statute miles 560 km 300 nmi and maximum breadth of 160 statute miles 257 km 139 nmi 8 Its average depth is 80 5 fathoms 483 ft 147 m with a maximum depth of 222 17 fathoms 1 333 ft 406 m 7 8 9 Lake Superior contains 2 900 cubic miles 12 100 km of water 7 There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America to a depth of 30 centimetres 12 in b The shoreline of the lake stretches 2 726 miles 4 387 km including islands 7 American limnologist J Val Klump was the first person to reach the lowest depth of Lake Superior on July 30 1985 as part of a scientific expedition which at 122 fathoms 1 foot 733 ft or 223 m below sea level is the second lowest spot in the continental interior of the United States and the third lowest spot in the interior of the North American continent after Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada 1 503 feet 458 m below sea level and Iliamna Lake in Alaska 942 feet 287 m below sea level Though Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and deeper than Lake Superior Crater Lake s elevation is higher and consequently its deepest point is 4 229 feet 1 289 m above sea level While the temperature of the surface of Lake Superior varies seasonally the temperature below 110 fathoms 660 ft 200 m is an almost constant 39 F 4 C This variation in temperature makes the lake seasonally stratified Twice per year however the water column reaches a uniform temperature of 39 F 4 C from top to bottom and the lake waters thoroughly mix This feature makes the lake dimictic Because of its volume Lake Superior has a retention time of 191 years 18 19 Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly feature wave heights of over 20 feet 6 m 20 Waves well over 30 feet 9 m have been recorded 21 Tributaries Edit Lake Superior basin Lake Superior is fed by more than 200 rivers including the Nipigon River the St Louis River the Pigeon River the Pic River the White River the Michipicoten River the Bois Brule River and the Kaministiquia River The lake s outlet at St Marys River has a relatively steep gradient with rapids The Soo Locks enable ships to bypass the rapids and to overcome the 25 foot 8 m height difference between Lakes Superior and Huron Water levels Edit A frozen Duluth Harbor Entrance The lake s average surface elevation is 600 feet 183 m 8 18 above sea level Until approximately 1887 the natural hydraulic conveyance through the St Marys River rapids determined the outflow from Lake Superior By 1921 development in support of transportation and hydroelectric power resulted in gates locks power canals and other control structures completely spanning St Marys rapids The regulating structure is known as the Compensating Works and is operated according to a regulation plan known as Plan 1977 A Water levels including diversions of water from the Hudson Bay watershed are regulated by the International Lake Superior Board of Control which was established in 1914 by the International Joint Commission Lake Superior s water level was at a new record low in September 2007 slightly less than the previous record low in 1926 22 Water levels recovered within a few days 23 Historic high water The lake s water level fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels in October and November The normal high water mark is 1 17 feet 0 36 m above datum 601 1 ft or 183 2 m In the summer of 1985 Lake Superior reached its highest recorded level at 2 33 feet 0 71 m above datum 24 2019 and 2020 set new high water records in nearly every month 24 Historic low water The lake s lowest levels occur in March and April The normal low water mark is 0 33 feet 0 10 m below datum In the winter of 1926 Lake Superior reached its lowest recorded level at 1 58 feet 0 48 m below datum 24 Additionally the entire first half of the year January to June included record low months The low water was a continuation of the dropping lake levels from the previous year 1925 which set low water records for October through December During the nine month period of October 1925 to June 1926 water levels ranged from 1 58 feet 0 48 m to 0 33 feet 0 10 m below Chart Datum 24 In the summer of 2007 monthly historic lows were set August at 0 66 feet 0 20 m September at 0 58 feet 0 18 m 24 Climate change Edit According to a study by professors at the University of Minnesota Duluth Lake Superior may have warmed faster than its surrounding area 25 Summer surface temperatures in the lake appeared to have increased by about 4 5 F 2 5 C between 1979 and 2007 compared with an approximately 2 7 F 1 5 C increase in the surrounding average air temperature The increase in the lake s surface temperature may be related to the decreasing ice cover Less winter ice cover allows more solar radiation to penetrate and warm the water If trends continue Lake Superior which freezes over completely once every 20 years could routinely be ice free by 2040 26 although more current data through 2021 does not support this trend 27 Warmer temperatures could lead to more snow in the lake effect snow belts along the shores of the lake especially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Two recent consecutive winters 2013 2014 and 2014 2015 brought high ice coverage to the Great Lakes and on March 6 2014 overall ice coverage peaked at 92 5 the second highest in recorded history 28 Lake Superior s ice coverage further beat 2014 s record in 2019 reaching 95 coverage 29 Geography Edit Lake Superior by Walter Shirlaw The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale in Michigan Isle Royale contains several lakes some of which also contain islands Other well known islands include Madeline Island in Wisconsin Michipicoten Island in Ontario and Grand Island the location of the Grand Island National Recreation Area in Michigan The larger cities on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth Minnesota and Superior Wisconsin Thunder Bay Ontario Marquette Michigan and the twin cities of Sault Ste Marie Michigan and Sault Ste Marie Ontario Duluth Superior at the western end of Lake Superior is the most inland point on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the most inland port in the world Among the scenic places on the lake are Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Brockway Mountain Drive on the Keweenaw Peninsula Isle Royale National Park Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park Pukaskwa National Park Lake Superior Provincial Park Grand Island National Recreation Area Sleeping Giant Ontario and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River 30 Climate EditLake Superior s size reduces the severity of the seasons of its humid continental climate more typically seen in locations like Nova Scotia 31 The water surface s slow reaction to temperature changes seasonally ranging between 32 and 55 F 0 13 C around 1970 32 helps to moderate surrounding air temperatures in the summer cooler with frequent sea breeze formations and winter and creates lake effect snow in colder months The hills and mountains that border the lake hold moisture and fog particularly in the fall Geology Edit Geological map of North America showing cratons and basement rocks The Midcontinent Rift is in white here labeled Keweenawan Rift Lake Superior occupies the apex of the rift the section to its north marked SUPERIOR is the Superior Craton The rocks of Lake Superior s northern shore date back to the early history of the earth During the Precambrian between 4 5 billion and 540 million years ago magma forcing its way to the surface created the intrusive granites of the Canadian Shield 33 These ancient granites can be seen on the North Shore today It was during the Penokean orogeny part of the process that created the Great Lakes tectonic zone that many valuable metals were deposited The region surrounding the lake has proved to be rich in minerals with copper iron silver gold and nickel the most frequently mined Notable production includes gold from the Hemlo mine near Marathon copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula and the Mamainse Point Formation iron from the Gogebic Range silver at Silver Islet and uranium at Theano Point The mountains steadily eroded depositing layers of sediments that compacted and became limestone dolomite taconite and the shale at Kakabeka Falls The continental crust was later riven creating one of the deepest rifts in the world 34 The lake lies in this long extinct Mesoproterozoic rift valley the Midcontinent Rift Magma was injected between layers of sedimentary rock forming diabase sills This hard diabase protects the layers of sedimentary rock below forming the flat topped mesas in the Thunder Bay area Amethyst formed in some of the cavities created by the Midcontinent Rift and there are several amethyst mines in the Thunder Bay area 35 Basaltic columns along Lake Superior Lava erupted from the rift and formed the black basalt rock of Michipicoten Island Black Bay Peninsula and St Ignace Island citation needed In the most recent geological history during the Wisconsin glaciation 10 000 years ago ice covered the region at a thickness of 1 25 miles 2 km The land contours familiar today were carved by the advance and retreat of the ice sheet The retreat left gravel sand clay and boulder deposits Glacial meltwaters gathered in the Superior basin creating Lake Minong a precursor to Lake Superior 36 Without the immense weight of the ice the land rebounded and a drainage outlet formed at Sault Ste Marie becoming today s St Mary s River History Edit Historical map of Lake Superior and Northern Michigan published 1879 by Rand McNally The first people came to the Lake Superior region 10 000 years ago after the retreat of the glaciers in the Last Glacial Period They are known as the Plano and they used stone tipped spears to hunt caribou on the northwestern side of Lake Minong The Shield Archaic peoples arrived around 5000 BC evidence of this culture can be found at the eastern and western ends of the Canadian shore They used bows and arrows paddled dugout canoes fished hunted mined copper for tools and weapons and established trading networks They are believed to be the direct ancestors of the Ojibwe and Cree 37 The people of the Laurel complex c 500 BC to AD 500 developed seine net fishing evidence being found at rivers around Superior such as the Pic and Michipicoten The people of the Terminal Woodland period were evident in the area from 900 AD to 1650 They were Algonquian peoples who hunted fished and gathered berries They used snowshoes birch bark canoes and conical or domed lodges At the mouth of the Michipicoten River nine layers of encampments have been discovered Most of the Pukaskwa Pits were likely made during this time 37 Pictographs at Lake Superior Provincial Park Ontario The Anishinaabe people which includes the Ojibwe or Chippewa have inhabited the Lake Superior region for over five hundred years and were preceded by the Dakota Fox Menominee Nipigon Noquet and Gros Ventres After the arrival of Europeans the Anishinaabe made themselves middle men between the French fur traders and other Native peoples They soon became the dominant Native American nation in the region they forced out the Sioux and Fox and won a victory against the Iroquois west of Sault Ste Marie in 1662 By the mid 18th century the Ojibwe occupied all of Lake Superior s shores 38 Reconstructed Great Hall Grand Portage National Monument Minnesota In the 18th century as the booming fur trade supplied Europe with beaver hats the Hudson s Bay Company had a virtual monopoly in the region until 1783 when the rival North West Company was formed The North West Company built forts on Lake Superior at Grand Portage Fort William Nipigon the Pic River the Michipicoten River and Sault Ste Marie But by 1821 with competition harming the profits of both the companies merged under the Hudson s Bay Company name Many towns around the lake are current or former mining areas or engaged in processing or shipping Today tourism is another significant industry the sparsely populated Lake Superior country with its rugged shorelines and wilderness attracts vacationers and adventurers Shipping Edit Ice blockade in Marquette Harbor June 1873 stereoscopic photo Lake Superior has been an important link in the Great Lakes Waterway providing a route for the transportation of iron ore as well as grain and other mined and manufactured materials Large cargo vessels called lake freighters as well as smaller ocean going freighters transport these commodities across Lake Superior Shipping was slow to arrive at Lake Superior in the 19th century The first steamboat to run on the lake was the Independence in 1847 whereas the first steamers on the other Great Lakes began sailing in 1816 39 40 Ice closes the lake shipping from mid January to late March Exact dates for the shipping season vary each year 41 depending on weather conditions that form and break the ice Shipwrecks Edit See also Great Storms of the North American Great Lakes List of shipwrecks of Isle Royale Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve and List of shipwrecks of western Lake Superior The southern shore of Lake Superior between Grand Marais Michigan and Whitefish Point is known as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes more ships have been lost around the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior 42 These shipwrecks are now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve Storms that claimed multiple ships include the Mataafa Storm in November 1905 and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Wreckage of SS Cyprus a 420 foot 130 m ore carrier that sank on October 11 1907 during a Lake Superior storm in 77 fathoms 460 ft or 140 m of water was located in August 2007 Built in Lorain Ohio Cyprus was launched August 17 1907 and was lost on her second voyage hauling iron ore from Superior Wisconsin to Buffalo New York with the sole survivor among her 23 crew being Charles G Pitz 43 In 1918 the last warships to sink in the Great Lakes French minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles vanished in a Lake Superior storm perhaps upon striking the uncharted danger of the Superior Shoal in an otherwise deep part of the lake With 78 crewmembers dead their sinking marked the largest loss of life on Lake Superior to date SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the latest ship to sink in Lake Superior 15 nautical miles 28 km 17 mi from Whitefish Point in a storm on November 10 1975 The wreck was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his ballad The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald All 29 crew members died and no bodies were recovered Edmund Fitzgerald was battered so intensely by Lake Superior that the 729 foot 222 m ship split in half her two pieces lie approximately 170 feet 52 m apart at a depth of 88 fathoms 530 ft or 160 m Lightfoot sings that Superior they said never gives up her dead 44 This is because of the unusually cold water under 36 F 2 C on average around 1970 32 Normally bacteria decaying a sunken body will bloat it with gas causing it to float to the surface after a few days But Lake Superior s water is cold enough year round to inhibit bacterial growth and bodies tend to sink and never resurface 45 Joe MacInnis reported that in July 1994 explorer Frederick Shannon s Expedition 94 to the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald discovered a man s body near the port side of her pilothouse not far from the open door fully clothed wearing an orange life jacket and lying face down in the sediment 46 Bedrock shoreline Neys Provincial Park Ontario Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore MichiganEcology EditMore than 80 species of fish have been found in Lake Superior Species native to the lake include banded killifish bloater brook trout burbot cisco lake sturgeon lake trout lake whitefish longnose sucker muskellunge northern pike pumpkinseed rock bass round whitefish smallmouth bass walleye white sucker and yellow perch In addition many fish species have been either intentionally or accidentally introduced to Lake Superior Atlantic salmon brown trout carp chinook salmon coho salmon freshwater drum pink salmon rainbow smelt rainbow trout round goby ruffe sea lamprey and white perch 47 48 Lake Superior has fewer dissolved nutrients relative to its water volume than the other Great Lakes and so is less productive in terms of fish populations and is an oligotrophic lake This is a result of the underdeveloped soils found in its relatively small watershed 18 It is also a reflection of relatively small human population and small amount of agriculture in its watershed However nitrate concentrations in the lake have been continuously rising for more than a century They are still much lower than levels considered dangerous to human health but this steady long term rise is an unusual record of environmental nitrogen buildup It may relate to anthropogenic alternations to the regional nitrogen cycle but researchers are still unsure of the causes of this change to the lake s ecology 49 As for other Great Lakes fish populations have also been affected by the accidental or intentional introduction of foreign species such as the sea lamprey and Eurasian ruffe Accidental introductions have occurred in part by the removal of natural barriers to navigation between the Great Lakes Overfishing has also been a factor in the decline of fish populations 13 See also Edit Lakes portalList of lakes in Ontario North Shore of Lake Superior South Shore of Lake SuperiorGeneral Edit Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes census statistical areas Great Lakes Commission Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal International Boundary Waters Treaty List of cities along the Great Lakes Seiche Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm Sixty Years War for control of the Great Lakes Third CoastNotes Edit The Caspian Sea is the largest lake but is saline not freshwater North America 2 47 107 km and South America 1 78 107 km combined cover 4 26 107 km Lake Superior s volume 1 20 104 km over 4 26 107 km gives a depth of 0 282 m References Edit a b National Geophysical Data Center 1999 Bathymetry of Lake Superior National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved March 23 2015 the general reference to NGDC because this lake was never published compilation of Great Lakes Bathymetry at NGDC has been suspended National Geophysical Data Center 1999 Bathymetry of Lake Huron National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doi 10 7289 V5G15XS5 Retrieved March 23 2015 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help only small portion of this map Hastings D amp Dunbar P K 1999 Global Land One Kilometer Base Elevation GLOBE v 1 National Geophysical Data Center doi 10 7289 V52R3PMS Retrieved March 16 2015 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory About Our Great Lakes Tour National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Archived from the original on May 7 2017 Retrieved December 15 2017 Wright H E Jr 1973 Black Robert Foster Goldthwait Richard Parker Willman Harold eds Tunnel Valleys Glacial Surges and Subglacial Hydrology of the Superior Lobe Minnesota Geological Society of America Memoirs Geological Society of America Memoirs Vol 136 Boulder Colorado Geological Society of America pp 251 276 doi 10 1130 MEM136 p251 ISBN 0813711363 Retrieved April 1 2015 Regis Robert S Jennings Patterson Carrie Wattrus Nigel amp Rausch Deborah March 24 25 2003 Relationship of Deep Troughs in the Eastern Lake Superior Basin and Large Scale Glaciofluvial Landforms in the Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan North Central Section 37th Annual Meeting Kansas City Missouri The Geological Society of America Paper No 19 10 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved April 1 2015 a b c d e f g h i Great Lakes Basic Information Physical Facts United States Environmental Protection Agency May 25 2011 Archived from the original on October 29 2010 Retrieved November 9 2011 a b c d e Great Lakes Atlas Factsheet 1 United States Environmental Protection Agency April 11 2011 Retrieved November 10 2011 a b Wright John W ed 2006 The New York Times Almanac 2007 ed New York Penguin Books p 64 ISBN 0 14 303820 6 Shorelines of the Great Lakes Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Archived from the original on April 5 2015 Great Lakes Water Levels PDF United States Army Corps of Engineers Archived from the original PDF on April 18 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 The link also has daily elevations for the current month Bencomo Phil October 6 2015 Just How Big is Lake Superior Lake Superior Magazine Retrieved July 9 2021 a b Minnesota Sea Grant Superior Pursuit Facts About the Greatest Great Lake University of Minnesota Archived from the original on July 21 2017 Retrieved August 9 2007 a b Kitchi Gami Almanac The Name LakeSuperior com January 1 2006 Chisholm Barbara amp Gutsche Andrea 1998 Under the Shadow of the Gods A Guide to the History of the Canadian Shore of Lake Superior 1st ed Transcontinental Printing Great Lakes Atlas Environment Canada and United States Environmental Protection Agency 1995 Stewart George R 1945 Names on the Land A Historical Account of Place Naming in the United States p 83 a b c Minnesota Sea Grant Lake Superior University of Minnesota Archived from the original on February 20 2007 Retrieved August 9 2007 Minnesota Sea Grant October 15 2014 Lake Superior s Natural Processes University of Minnesota Archived from the original on August 22 2020 Retrieved November 17 2015 The Fall Storm Season National Weather Service Retrieved September 25 2007 Chisholm amp Gutsche 1998 p xiii Lake Superior Hits Record Lows The Globe and Mail Toronto Associated Press October 1 2007 Archived from the original on June 10 2008 Retrieved October 6 2007 Current Great Lakes Water Levels Great Lakes Information Network Archived from the original on October 20 2007 Retrieved October 23 2007 a b c d e Detroit District February 2021 Water Level Data United States Army Corps of Engineers Marshall Jessica May 30 2007 Global Warming Is Shrinking the Great Lakes New Scientist Archived from the original on October 13 2007 Retrieved September 25 2007 Lake Superior Warming Faster than Surrounding Climate The Globe and Mail Toronto Associated Press June 4 2007 Archived from the original on April 9 2007 Retrieved September 25 2007 Statistics coastwatch glerl noaa gov Retrieved July 29 2022 Extensive Great Lakes Ice Coverage to Limit Severe Weather Pose Challenges to Shipping Industry Accuweather com Archived from the original on January 1 2016 Retrieved November 17 2015 Meyers John March 16 2019 After Achieving 95 Percent Coverage Lake Superior s Ice Breaking Up Pioneer Press St Paul Minnesota Forum News Service Retrieved September 4 2019 Great Lakes Circle Tour Great Lakes net Archived from the original on July 25 2010 Retrieved November 17 2015 Phillips David W 1978 Environmental Climatology of Lake Superior Journal of Great Lakes Research Vol 4 no 3 4 pp 288 309 doi 10 1016 S0380 1330 78 72199 4 a b Derecki J A July 1980 NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL 29 Evaporation from Lake Superior PDF Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory p 37 Retrieved September 25 2007 Harris Ann G 1977 Geology of National Parks 2nd ed Dubuque Iowa Kendall Hunt p 200 Linder Douglas O 2006 Simply Superior The World s Greatest Lake Lake Superior Facts Law umkc edu Archived from the original on November 5 2005 Retrieved November 17 2015 Ontario Amethyst Ontario s Mineral Emblem Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Archived from the original on August 12 2007 Retrieved August 4 2007 Chisholm amp Gutsche 1998 p xv a b Chisholm amp Gutsche 1998 p xvi Chisholm amp Gutsche 1998 p xvii Palmer Richard F 1988 First Steamboat on the Great Lakes PDF pp 7 8 Bowen Dana Thomas 1953 Great Lakes Ships and Shipping PDF Minnesota Historical Society p 9 Paul R Treggurtha Last Trip for the Tregurtha This Year Duluth Shipping News January 12 2015 Archived from the original on May 20 2020 Retrieved January 21 2015 Another trip here was planned but has apparently been canceled making this her last and 41st visit this season Last year without a late start due to ice the Tregurtha was here 49 times Stonehouse Frederick 1998 1985 Lake Superior s Shipwreck Coast Gwinn Michigan Avery Color Studios p 267 ISBN 0 932212 43 3 Century Old Shipwreck Discovered Ore Carrier Went Down in Lake Superior on Its Second Voyage NBC News Associated Press September 10 2007 Kohl Cris 1998 The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks Vol II Seawolf Communications p 430 ISBN 0 9681437 3 3 Chisholm amp Gutsche 1998 p xxxiv MacInnis Joseph 1998 Fitzgerald s Storm The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Berkeley California Thunder Bay Press p 101 ISBN 1 882376 53 6 Minnesota Sea Grant Lake Superior Fish Species University of Minnesota Retrieved June 3 2009 Minnesota 2009 fishing regulations p 23 full citation needed Sterner Robert W Anagnostou Eleni Brovold Sandra Bullerjahn George S Finlay Jacques C Kumar Sanjeev McKay R Michael L Sherrell Robert M 2007 Increasing Stoichiometric Imbalance in North America s Largest Lake Nitrification in Lake Superior PDF Geophysical Research Letters Vol 34 no 10 pp L10406 Bibcode 2007GeoRL 3410406S doi 10 1029 2006GL028861 Further reading Edit America The Daily Mining Gazette Houghton Michigan June 8 1928 Burt Williams A amp Hubbard Bela 1846 Reports on the Mineral Region of Lake Superior Buffalo L Danforth Cumberland Detroit Free Press January 29 1974 Grady Wayne 2007 The Great Lakes The Natural History of a Changing Region Greystone Books Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory 2006 Great Lakes Sensitivity to Climatic Forcing Hydrological Models National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Archived from the original on August 8 2010 Holdon Thom July August 1977 Reef of the Three C s The Nor easter Vol 2 no 4 Duluth MN Lake Superior Marine Museum May August 1978 Above and Below Steamer America The Nor easter Vol 3 no 3 amp 4 Duluth Minnesota Lake Superior Marine Museum Hyde Charles K Mahan Ann amp Mahan John 1995 The Northern Lights Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes Detroit Wayne State University Press ISBN 9780814325544 Langston Nancy 2017 Sustaining Lake Superior An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World New Haven Connecticut Yale University Press LeMay Konnie July 30 2018 Rockin the Rift The Billion Year Old Split that Made Us Lake Superior Magazine Oleszewski Wes 1998 Great Lakes Lighthouses American and Canadian A Comprehensive Directory Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses Gwinn Michigan Avery Color Studios ISBN 0 932212 98 0 Penrod John 1998 Lighthouses of Michigan Berrien Center Michigan Penrod Hiawatha ISBN 978 0 942618 78 5 Penrose Laurie amp Penrose Bill 1999 A Traveler s Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses Petoskey Michigan Friede Publications ISBN 9780923756031 Ralph Julian 1890 Lake Superior along the south shore New York Press of American Bank Note Company Sims P K amp Carter L M H eds 1996 Archean and Proterozoic Geology of the Lake Superior Region U S A 1993 Washington DC United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1556 Splake T Kilgore 1984 Superior Land Lights Battle Creek Michigan Angst Productions S S George M Cox Wrecked The Daily Mining Gazette Houghton Michigan May 28 1933 Stonehouse Frederick 1974 Marquette Shipwrecks Marquette Michigan Harboridge Press 1977 Isle Royale Shipwrecks Marquette Michigan Avery Color Studios United States Army Corps of Engineers August 2007 Record Low Water Levels Expected on Lake Superior Wagner John L 1998 Michigan Lighthouses An Aerial Photographic Perspective East Lansing Michigan John L Wagner ISBN 9781880311011 Wreck of Sidewheel Steamer Cumberland Detroit Free Press January 29 1974 Wright Larry amp Wright Patricia 2006 Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Erin Boston Mills Press ISBN 1 55046 399 3 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Superior Geographic data related to Lake Superior at OpenStreetMap Lake Superior NOAA nautical chart 14961 online International Lake Superior Board of Control EPA s Great Lakes Atlas EPA s Great Lakes Atlas Factsheet 1 Great Lakes Coast Watch Parks Canada Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area Minnesota Sea Grant Lake Superior Page Archived August 14 2007 at the Wayback Machine Lake Superior Bathymetry Archived January 16 2009 at the Wayback Machine Lake Superior Trials Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lake Superior amp oldid 1128968821, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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