Lake Erie
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/* Geography */
{{Infobox_lake |lake_name = [[Lake Erie]]
|image_lake = Lake Erie looking southward.jpg
|caption_lake = Looking southward from a high rural bluff near [[Leamington, Ontario]]
|image_bathymetry =
|caption_bathymetry =
|coords = {{coord|42.2|N|81.2|W|type:waterbody_scale:3000000_region:CA/US|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Great Lakes]]
|type =
|inflow = [[Detroit River]]
|outflow = [[Niagara River]]
|catchment =
|basin_countries = [[Canada]], [[United States of America]]
|length = {{convert|241|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|width = {{convert|57|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|area = {{convert|9940|sqmi|km2|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=nyt/>
|depth = {{convert|62|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
|max-depth = {{convert|210|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=nyt/>
|volume = {{convert|116|cumi|km3|abbr=on}}
|residence_time = 2.6 yrs
|shore = {{convert|850|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|elevation = {{convert|571|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=nyt/>
|islands = 24+ ''(see [[#Islands|list]])''
|cities = [[Buffalo, New York]]<br> [[Erie, Pennsylvania]]<br> [[Toledo, Ohio]]<br> [[Monroe, Michigan]]<br> [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
|reference = <ref name=nyt>{{cite book|first=John W. (ed.)|last=Wright|coauthors=Editors and reporters of ''The New York Times''|year=2006 | title=The New York Times Almanac | edition=2007 | publisher=Penguin Books |location = New York, New York | id=ISBN 0-14-303820-6 | pages=64}}</ref>
}}
'''Lake Erie'''<ref>[[United States Geological Survey]] Hydrological Unit Code: 04-12-02-00{{Fact|date=June 2008}}</ref> ({{pronEng|ˈɪəriː}}) is the fourth largest (by surface area) of the five [[Great Lakes]], and the tenth largest globally <ref name="Factmonster list">[http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0001777.html Large Lakes of the World]. ''Factmonster.com.''</ref> It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by [[volume]] of the Great Lakes<ref name="GLIN F&F">[http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/eriefact.html Lake Erie - Facts and Figures], ''Great Lakes Information Network.''</ref><ref>[http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/us/A0817584.html Erie, Lake], ''Factmonster.com.''</ref> and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Ontario]], on the south by the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[New York]], and on the west by the state of [[Michigan]]. The lake is named after the [[Erie tribe]] of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] who lived along its southern shore<ref name="GLIN F&F"/>.
The lake's formerly more extensive lakebed creates a favorable environment for [[agriculture]] in the bordering areas of Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The lake also supports a strong commercial and sport fishery. But since high levels of [[pollution]] were discovered in the 1960s and 1970s, there has been continued debate over the desired intensity of commercial fishing.
==Geography==
{{seealso|Lake Erie Basin}}
Lake Erie (42.2° N, 81.2° W) has a mean elevation of 571 feet (174 m)<ref name=nyt/> above sea level. It has a surface area of 9,940 square miles (25,745 km²)<ref name=nyt/> with a length of 241 miles (388 km) and breadth of 57 miles (92 km) at its widest points. [[Image:LakeErie-2.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Frozen Lake Erie from [[Cleveland]]]]
It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes with an average depth of 62 feet (19 m) and a maximum depth of 210 feet (64 m).<ref name=nyt/> For comparison, [[Lake Superior]] has an average depth of 483 feet (147 m), a volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km³) and shoreline of 2,726 miles (4385 km). Because it is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes.<ref>http://www.wkyc.com/life/programming/shows/lake_erie/news_article.aspx?storyid=70035</ref>
Lake Erie is primarily fed by the [[Detroit River]] (from [[Lake Huron]] and [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake St. Clair]]) and drains via the [[Niagara River]] and [[Niagara Falls]] into [[Lake Ontario]]. Navigation downstream is provided by the [[Welland Canal]], part of the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]]. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]], the [[Huron River (Michigan)|Huron River]], the [[Maumee River]], the [[Sandusky River]] and the [[Cuyahoga River]].
[[Image:Lake-Erie.svg|thumb|right|200px|Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes]]
[[Point Pelee National Park]], the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, is located on a peninsula extending into the lake. Several islands are found in the western end of the lake; these belong to Ohio except for [[Pelee Island]] and 8 neighboring islands, which are part of Ontario. The cities of [[Buffalo, New York]]; [[Erie, Pennsylvania]]; [[Toledo, Ohio]]; [[Port Stanley, Ontario]]; [[Monroe, Michigan]]; and [[Cleveland, Ohio]] are located on the shores of Lake Erie.
The [[drainage basin]] covers 30,140 square miles (78,000 sq. km).
===Islands===
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Ballast Island]]
*[[Big Chicken Island]]
*[[Chick Island]]
*[[East Sister Island]]
*[[Gibraltar Island]]
*[[Green Island (Ohio)|Green Island]]
*[[Gull Island (Lake Erie)|Gull Island]]
*[[Hen Island (Ontario)|Hen Island]]
*[[Johnson's Island]]
*[[Kelleys Island, Ohio|Kelleys Island]]
*[[Lost Ballast Island]]
*[[Middle Island (Lake Erie)|Middle Island]]
*[[Middle Bass Island]]
{{col-2}}
*[[Middle Sister Island]]
*[[Mohawk Island]]
*[[Mouse Island]]
*[[North Bass Island]]
*[[North Harbour Island]]
*[[Pelee, Ontario|Pelee Island]]
*[[Rattlesnake Island (Lake Erie)|Rattlesnake Island]]
*[[South Bass Island]]
*[[Starve Island]]
*[[Sugar Island (Ohio)|Sugar Island]]
*[[Turtle Island (Lake Erie)|Turtle Island]]
*[[West Sister Island]]
{{col-end}}
== History ==
{{seealso|1813|Battle of Lake Erie|Oliver Hazard Perry}}
{{Expand-section|date=January 2007}}
=== Native American ===
At the time of European contact, there were several groups of Iroquoian cultures living around the shores of the eastern end of the lake. The [[Erie tribe]] (from whom the lake takes its name) lived along the southern edge, while the [[Neutrals]] (also known as Attawandaron) lived along the northern shore. Both tribes were conquered and assimilated by their hostile eastern neighbours, the [[Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy]] between 1651 and 1657 AD, in what is referred to as part of the [[Beaver Wars]].<ref> Trigger, Bruce; ''The Children of Aataentsic'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, Kingston and Montreal,1987, ISBN 0-7735-0626-8), pgs.789-797.</ref>
For decades after those wars, the land around eastern Lake Erie was claimed and utilized by the Iroquois as a hunting ground. As the power of the Iroquois waned during the last quarter of the seventeenth century, several other, mainly [[Anishinaabe]] Native American tribes, displaced them from the territories they claimed on the north shore of the lake.<ref> Schmalz, Peter S.; ''The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario'' (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo, London, 1991, ISBN 0-8020-2736-9), pgs.13-34.</ref>
=== European exploration and settlement===
In 1669, the Frenchman [[Louis Jolliet]] was the first documented European to sight Lake Erie, although there is speculation that [[Etienne Brule]] may have come across it in 1615.<ref>Ashworth, William (1987). ''The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History'', p. 36. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0814318878.</ref> Lake Erie was the last of the Great Lakes to be explored by Europeans, since the Iroquois who occupied the [[Niagara River]] area were in conflict with the French, and they did not allow explorers or traders to pass through. Explorers had followed rivers out of Lake Ontario and portaged into Lake Huron.
=== Recent history ===
Lake Erie infamously became very polluted in the 1960s and 1970s. Urban legend has described it as a ''dead lake'', but both sport and commercial fishing have continued without interruption to the present day. Pollution in the lake did not get much attention until the great ''[[Cuyahoga River]] Fire'' in June 1969. Pollution from [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] and other Ohio cities had so contaminated this [[tributary]] of Lake Erie with [[petrochemical]]s that it actually caught on fire. The fire embarrassed state officials and prompted the [[United States Congress]] to pass the [[Clean Water Act]] of 1972. <ref>Ashworth (1987), pp. 143-44.</ref>
The lake has since become clean enough to allow sunlight to infiltrate its water and produce algae and sea weed.
==Ecology==
[[Image:Sour cherry 3428.JPG|left|thumb|Sour [[cherry]] [[orchard]] on Lake Erie shoreline<br/>Leamington, Ontario]]
Like the other Great Lakes, Erie produces [[lake effect snow]] when the first cold winds of winter pass over the warm waters, making [[Buffalo, New York]], the eleventh snowiest place in the entire [[United States]], according to data collected from the [[National Climatic Data Center]].<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-01-snowiest-cities_x.htm Answers: 10 snowiest 'cities' aren't all in New York]. Also creating the [[snow belt]] from [[Cleveland]] to [[Buffalo]]. Chris Cappella, ''USATODAY.com.''</ref> The lake effect ends or its effect is reduced, however, when the lake freezes over. Being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it is the most likely to freeze and frequently does.<ref name=Straight Dope">[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlakeeffectsnow.html What's the physics behind "lake effect snow"?]. ''the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board.''</ref>
The lake is also responsible for [[microclimate]]s that are important to [[agriculture]]. Along its north shore is one of the richest areas of Canada's [[fruit]] and [[vegetable]] production, and along the southeastern shore in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is an important [[grape]] growing region, as are the islands in the lake.
[[Image:Erie 07-04-2008 01;14;23PM.JPG|left|thumb|350px|<font size=2>Lake Erie on a summer morning west of [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]]</font size=2>]]
During the 1960s and 1970s, Lake Erie experienced changes in [[water quality]] associated with increasing levels of the nutrient [[phosphorus]] in the water and bottom sediments. The result was [[eutrophication]] of the system which resulted in major changes in productivity. [[Algal bloom]]s formed by the high [[nitrogen]] levels in the water. The decomposition of algae led to extensive seasonal [[Anoxic sea water|anoxic]] areas in the lake (the so-called [[Dead zone (ecology)|dead zone]]), that were expanding rapidly in the early 1970s. The decomposing algal masses and associated fish kills fouled shorelines, contributing to the widespread impression of Lake Erie as a dead lake.
A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the dumping and runoff of phosphorus into the lake significantly. A dead zone persists in the central Lake Erie basin during the late summer. The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] is currently studying this cyclic phenomenon.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html Lake Erie 'Dead Zone']. ''US EPA Lake Erie 'Dead Zone'.'' URL accessed on [[December 15]], [[2005]].</ref>
Since the 1970s [[environmental regulation]] has led to a great increase in water quality and the return of economically important fish species such as [[walleye]] and other biological life.<ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10369_36152-145852--,00.html Recovery of Lake Erie Walleye a Success Story]. ''Michigan Department of Natural Resources.''</ref>
However, the lake ecosystem is much changed from its original state, with a long list of [[invasive species]] well established. Common fish species such as [[rainbow smelt]], [[alewife]], [[white perch]] and [[common carp]] have all been introduced from outside the Great Lakes. Non-native sportfish such as [[rainbow trout]] and [[brown trout]] continue to be stocked for anglers to catch. Attempts to stock the lake with [[Coho Salmon|coho salmon]] were made, but failed, and that species is once again nearly absent from the lake. Recent invaders, [[zebra mussel|zebra]] and [[Quagga mussel|quagga]] [[mussel]]s have populated the entire Lake Erie [[ecosystem]], altering energy flow through the food web away from the [[pelagic]] zone and into the [[benthic zone]].
Other invasive species, such as the [[Round Goby|goby]] (recently arrived) and the [[grass carp]] (on the doorstep), have increased public debate about the risks of non-native invaders to Great Lakes ecosystems.
The effects of zebra mussels and gobies have been credited with the increased population and size of [[smallmouth bass]] in Lake Erie.<ref>[http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=tourn_03_north_open_NY_erie_preview ESPN - 2003/04 New York Northern Open: Smallmouth haven Erie to host Northern anglers<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Lake Erie is home to one of the world's largest freshwater commercial fisheries. Once a mainstay of communities around the lake, [[commercial fishing]] is now predominantly based in Canadian communities, with a much smaller fishery—largely restricted to [[yellow perch]]—in Ohio. The Ontario fishery is one of the most intensively managed in the world. It was one of the first fisheries in the world managed on individual transferable quotas and features mandatory daily catch reporting and intensive auditing of the catch reporting system. Still, the commercial fishery is the target of critics who would like to see the lake managed for the exclusive benefit of [[sport fishing]] and the various industries serving the sport fishery.
Commercial landings are dominated by yellow perch and [[walleye]], with substantial quantities of [[rainbow smelt]] and [[white bass]] also taken. Anglers target walleye and yellow perch, with some effort directed at [[rainbow trout]]. A variety of other species are taken in smaller quantities by both commercial and sport fleets.
Management of the fishery is by consensus of all management agencies with an interest in the resource (the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan and the province of Ontario) under the mandate of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, which is driven by comprehensive fisheries assessment programs and sophisticated mathematical modeling systems. The Commission remains the source of considerable recrimination, primarily from United States based angler and charter fishing groups with a historical antipathy to the commercial fishery. This conflict is complex, dating from the 1960s, with in U.S. fisheries management that led to elimination of commercial fishing in most U.S. Great Lakes states. The process began in Michigan, and its evolution is well documented in Szylvian (2004)<ref>[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/9.1/szylvian.html Szylvian,K.M. 2004.] ''Transforming Lake Michigan into the 'World's Greatest Fishing Hole': The Environmental Politics of Michigan's Great Lakes Sport Fishing, 1965–1985.''
</ref>, using Lake Michigan as a case study. The underlying issues are universal, wherever sport and commercial fishing coexist, but their persistence in the Lake Erie context, one of the most intensively scrutinized and managed fisheries, suggests that these conflicts are cultural, not scientific, and therefore not resolvable by reference to ecological data. These debates are largely driven by social, political and economic issues, not ecology<ref>Berkes, F. 1984. Competition between commercial and sport fishermen: an ecological analysis. Human Ecology 12: 413-429.</ref>.
==Effects on economy==
The drainage basin has led to well fertilised soil. [[Ohio|Ohio's]] north coast is widely referred to as the nursery capital.<ref>http://www.lakecountyoh.net/businessmenu/business.php</ref>
The Port of Cleveland generates over $350 million and over 15 million tons of cargo. The traffic in Lake Erie, which is the most of the lakes, along with being the shallowest and roughest of lakes has led to it containing the most known shipwrecks of the [[Great Lakes]].
==Hydrology==
[[Image:Bass Islands map.png|thumb|300px|right|Partial map of the Lake Erie islands]]
[[Image:LakeErieIslands.JPG|thumb|300px|Some of the Lake Erie islands]]
Lake Erie has a [[lake retention time]] of 2.6 years, which is the shortest of all the [[Great Lakes]].<ref name="EPA Basic">[http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/basicinfo.html#erie Great Lakes; Basic Information: Lake Erie]. ''U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.''</ref>
Like the rest of the Great Lakes, Erie's levels fluctuate with the season of the year, with the lowest levels in January and February, and the highest in June or July. Its average yearly levels also vary depending on long-term precipitation variations, with levels falling during [[drought]]s and rising during periods of extended above-average precipitation.
Lake Erie's short-term level changes are often subject to weather, since its shallowness and the southwest-to-northeast alignment of its longitudinal axis make it particularly prone to [[seiche]]s, especially during high southwesterly winds, when the lake water tends to pile up at one end of the lake. This can lead to large [[storm surge]]s, potentially causing damage onshore. During one storm in November 2003, the water level at Buffalo rose by 7 feet (2.1 m) with waves of 10-15 feet (3-4.5 m) on top of that, for a cumulative rise of as much as 22 feet (6.7 m).{{fact|date=June 2008}} Meanwhile, [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]] at the western end of the lake will measure similar drops in water level. After the storm event, the water will slowly slosh back and forth, similar to the effect in a bath tub, until equilibrium is re-established.
== See also ==
*[[Bass Islands]]
*[[Bessie (lake monster)|Bessie]] the Lake Erie sea monster
*[[Cedar Point]]
*[[Erie Canal]]
*[[Great Lakes Areas of Concern]]
*[[Lake Erie belt]]
*[[List of lakes by area]]
*[[List of lakes in Ohio]]
*[[Maumee Bay]]
==References ==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Assel, R.A. (1983). ''Lake Erie regional ice cover analysis: preliminary results '' [NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL 48]. Ann Arbor, MI: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Research Laboratories, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
*Saylor, J.H. and G.S. Miller. (1983). ''Investigation of the currents and density structure of Lake Erie'' [NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL 49]. Ann Arbor, MI: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Research Laboratories, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
== Images ==
<gallery>
Image:1430-19.Jpg|Howard Farms Beach and Cooley Canal on Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio
Image:pbalson_20060527_IMG_3822.JPG|Sunset over Lake Erie near [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]
Image:pbalson_20060527_IMG_3835.JPG|Sunset over Lake Erie near [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]
Image:Lake Erie sunglint.JPG|Lake Erie from space, looking from the west
Image:Lake Erie from Long Point.jpg|The shore of Lake Erie as seen from [[Long Point]]
</gallery>
== External links ==
{{commonscat|Lake Erie}}
{{wiktionary|Erie}}
* [http://www.lakeerieislands.us Lake Erie Islands Directory]
* [http://www.middlebass2.org/IslandsInLakeErie.PDF How many Islands are there in Lake Erie?]
* [http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/index.html EPA's Great Lakes Atlas]
* [http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/ Great Lakes Coast Watch]
*[http://www.portclinton.org/ Put in Bay] Travel Guide
{{greatlakes}}
[[Category:Lakes of Ontario|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Erie Canal]]
[[Category:Great Lakes Waterway]]
[[Category:Great Lakes|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Lakes of Ohio|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Lakes of New York|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:International lakes|Erie]]
[[Category:Saint Lawrence Seaway]]
[[Category:Regions of Ohio]]
[[arc:ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܝܪܝ]]
[[bg:Ери]]
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[[cs:Erijské jezero]]
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[[et:Erie järv]]
[[es:Lago Erie]]
[[eo:Eria Lago]]
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[[fa:دریاچه ایری]]
[[fr:Lac Érié]]
[[gl:Lago Erie]]
[[ko:이리 호]]
[[hi:ईरी]]
[[id:Danau Erie]]
[[it:Lago Erie]]
[[he:ימת אירי]]
[[la:Lacus Eriarum]]
[[lv:Ēri ezers]]
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[[mk:Ири]]
[[nl:Eriemeer]]
[[ja:エリー湖]]
[[no:Eriesjøen]]
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[[pl:Erie (jezioro)]]
[[pt:Lago Erie]]
[[ro:Lacul Erie]]
[[qu:Erie qucha]]
[[ru:Эри (озеро)]]
[[simple:Lake Erie]]
[[fi:Eriejärvi]]
[[sv:Eriesjön]]
[[vi:Hồ Erie]]
[[tr:Erie Gölü]]
[[uk:Ері]]
[[zh:伊利湖]]