Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. They are the largest group of fresh water lakes on the earth and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system is the largest fresh-water system in the world. They are sometimes referred to as inland seas.

Economy of the Great Lakes

The lakes are extensively used for transport, though cargo traffic has decreased considerably in recent years. The Great Lakes Waterway makes each of the lakes accessible.

Related Topics:
Transport - Cargo - Great Lakes Waterway

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During settlement, the Great Lakes and its rivers were the only practical means of moving people and freight. Anything and everything floated on the lakes. Some ended up on the bottom due to storms, fires, collisions and underwater hazards. (See Edmund Fitzgerald and Le Griffon.) Barges from middle North America were able to reach the Atlantic Ocean from the Great Lakes when the Erie Canal opened in 1825. By 1848, with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal at Chicago, direct access to the Mississippi River was possible from the lakes. With these two canals an all-inland water route was provided between New York City and New Orleans.

Related Topics:
Edmund Fitzgerald - Le Griffon - Barges - North America - Erie Canal - 1825 - Illinois and Michigan Canal - Chicago

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The main business of many of the passenger lines in the 1800s was transporting immigrants. Many of the larger cities owe their existence to their position on the lakes as a freight destination as well as for being a magnet for immigrants. After railroads and surface roads developed the freight and passenger businesses dwindled and, excepting ferries and a few foreign cruise ships, now has vanished.

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Yet, the immigration routes still have an effect today. Immigrants often formed their own communities and some areas have a pronounced ethnicity, say Dutch, German, Polish or Finnish, among many others. Since many immigrants settled for a time in New England before moving westward, many areas on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes also have a New England feel, especially in home styles and accent.

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Since general freight these days is transported by railroads and trucks (lorries), domestic ships mostly move bulk cargoes, such as iron ore and its derivatives, coal and limestone for the steel industry. The domestic bulk freight developed because of the nearby mines. It was more economical to transport the ingredients for steel to centralized plants rather than try to make steel on the spot. Ingredients for steel, however, are not the only bulk shipments made.

Related Topics:
Iron ore - Coal - Limestone - Steel

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Because the lake maritime community largely developed independently, it has its own language. Ships, no matter the size, are referred to as boats. When the sailing ships gave way to steamships, they were called steamboats—the same term used on the Mississippi. The ships also have a distinctive design. Ships that primarily trade on the lakes are known as lakers. Foreign boats are known as salties.

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One of the more common sights on the lakes is the 1,000 by 105-foot (305 by 32-meter), 60,000 U.S. long ton (60,000 metric ton) self-unloader. This is a laker with a huge conveyor belt system that can unload itself by swinging a crane over the side. Understandably, because most things go by land and the fact that one modern ship is the equivalent of many older ships, the Great Lakes fleet is a fraction of what it once was.

Related Topics:
Long ton - Metric ton

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Modern economy

The Great Lakes are used as a major mode of transport for bulk goods. The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first sailing ship to travel the upper Great Lakes on August 7, 1679.

Related Topics:
Transport - Le Griffon - René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle - Niagara River - August 7 - 1679

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In 2002, 162 million net tons of dry bulk cargo was moved on the Lakes. This was, in order of volume: iron ore, coal, stone, grain, salt, cement and potash. The iron ore and much of the stone and coal are used in the steel industry. There is also some shipping of liquid and containerized cargo but most container ships cannot pass the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway because they are too wide. The total amount of shipping on the lakes has been on a downward trend for several years.

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Recreational boating and tourism are major industries on the Great Lakes. A few small cruise ships operate on the Great Lakes including a couple of sailing ships. Sport fishing, commercial fishing, and Native American fishing represent a 4 billion dollar (USD) a year industry with salmon, whitefish, smelt, lake trout, and walleye being major catches.

Related Topics:
Sailing ships - USD - Salmon - Whitefish - Smelt - Lake trout - Walleye

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The Great Lakes are used to supply drinking water to tens of millions of people in bordering areas. This valuable resource is collectively administered by the state and provincial governments adjacent to the lakes.

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Passenger Traffic on the Lakes

Several ferries operate on the Great Lakes to carry passengers to various islands, including Isle Royale, Pelee Island, Mackinac Island, Beaver Island, both Bois Blanc Islands, Kelleys Island, South Bass Island, North Manitou Island, South Manitou Island, Harsens Island, Manitoulin Island, and the Toronto Islands. As of 2005, three car ferry services cross the Great Lakes: a steamer across Lake Michigan from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin; a high speed catamaran on a second Lake Michigan route from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon, Michigan; and an international ferry across Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Toronto, Ontario.

Related Topics:
Isle Royale - Pelee Island - Mackinac Island - Beaver Island - Bois Blanc Island - Kelleys Island - South Bass Island - North Manitou Island - South Manitou Island - Harsens Island - Manitoulin Island - Toronto Islands - As of 2005 - Ludington, Michigan - Manitowoc, Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Muskegon, Michigan - Rochester, New York - Toronto, Ontario

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Perils on the Inland Seas

Travel on the Lakes has not been without risks. Storms and reefs are a common threat, and many thousands of ships have sunk in these waters, the number estimates varying widely. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, lost November 10, 1975, was the last major freighter lost on the lakes. The greatest concentration of these wrecks lies beneath Thunder Bay (Michigan) in Lake Huron near the point where eastbound and westbound shipping lanes converge. This area is prone to sudden and severe storms, particularly in the autumn from late October until early December. In one single storm, the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, at least 19 ships went down across the lakes in 2 days time, killing at least 248 sailors. 8 of these vessels lie in the vicinity of Thunder Bay. Today there is a NOAA Marine Archeology Research Station located in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Here divers can explore more the than 200 shipwrecks that form one of the most concentrated and best preserved marine archeology sites in the world.

Related Topics:
Storm - Reef - Ship - SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' - Thunder Bay (Michigan) - Great Lakes Storm of 1913

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Invasive species

The Great Lakes have been hit economically by various invasive species, two of the most significant being the sea lamprey and zebra mussel. The mussel clogs pipes leading to the lake and causes approximately $1 billion in damages per year while destroying native species. The lamprey feeds on the sport fish of the lake, making it less attractive to fishermen. An electric fence has been set up across the mouth of the Great Lakes in order to keep an invasive species of carp out of the area.

Related Topics:
Invasive species - Sea lamprey - Zebra mussel

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