Lake Erie: Ten Fascinating Facts

     Hi all!! Today I'm going to cover some of the most interesting facts about Lake Erie. On our road trip this summer, we visited Lake Erie. It's the second Great Lake that I've visited (the first was Lake Michigan) and I think it's so cool how big those lakes are!! So, on to the ten most interesting facts about Lake Erie...

 

One:

     After the worldwide flood around 4,500 BC, the Great Lakes area was covered with ice sheets. When these sheets melted, they carved rivers and lakes, including Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. Lake Erie was probably completely formed by 4,000 BC.

Niagara Falls

Two:

     Lake Erie's main outlet is Niagara Falls at it's north-eastern end. I've never visited these, unfortunately, but I really want to someday.

Three:

     The lake's name is derived an Iroquoian word for "long tail," erielhonan. The lake is shaped like a tail, hence the name.

Louis Joliet

Four:

     The lake was discovered in 1669 by Louis Joliet, a French explorer who also knew how to play the organ and the harpsichord. There's a bit of randomness for your day. :)

Five:

     Lake Erie also played a part in the War of 1812. It was the site of the Battle of Lake Erie (duh), which took place on September 10, 1813. The U.S. Navy defeated the British Navy, and regained control of the lake and of Detroit - an important strategical victory.

Six:

     Another piece of history - because history is awesome. The Lake Erie Canal was completed in 1825, and connects Lake Erie to the Hudson River. It helped the economic growth of the surrounding areas, but is now used mainly for pleasure.

A mill on Lake Erie
- photo credit, yours truly. :)

Seven:

     Lake Erie is the warmest of the Great Lakes, due mostly to it's southern most position. And warm doesn't mean hot - it was pretty numbingly cold when we were there in July. (Granted - it was around 10 in the morning, but still.)

Eight:

     Even though it's the warmest lake, it actually freezes over more often than the other four!

Nine:

     Lake Erie has the fourth largest surface area, but smallest water volume, of the five lakes.

Ten:

     At some places, the water levels are only 25 to 30 feet deep. (That's pretty shallow!)

     So that's that! Hope you enjoyed my top ten facts on Lake Erie. I know this may not be as interesting of a post (not that any of mine are), but next week will be! I'm going to start a series on the Lord of the Rings. It'll be my first series, so we'll see how it goes.

     Be sure to come back to check that out! :) Ta-ta for now! 

Photos from Google Images (except A mill on Lake Erie) - no copyright infringement intended.