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Article: Great Lakes
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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GREAT LAKES
GREAT LAKES.
The Great Lakes, also called the Inland Seas, consist of five connecting freshwater lakes in east central North America that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States. Collectively they constitute the world's largest body of freshwater, with a surface area of 94,000 square miles (244,000 sq. km) and 5,500 cubic miles (23,000 cu. km) of water. The lakes contain approximately 18 percent of the world's supply of freshwater, with only the polar ice caps having more. From west to east, the lakes are Superior (the largest and deepest of the lakes), Michigan, Huron, Erie (the shallowest), and Ontario (the smallest); they collectively ...