Sage-Tips

Why are the Great Lakes not oceans?

The Great Lakes could be considered a failed ocean. They are in a place where rifting started to create a new ocean, but it never got connected to the ocean system (and flooded), and that was still the case when the rifting eventually stopped. Those rifts were then further (much later) “excavated” by glaciers.

Why are the Great Lakes so deep?

The Great Lakes were born when glaciers receded from this part of the world at the end of the last ice age. As the icy bulldozers went northward, they carved out deep troughs in the earth that later filled with water.

Why are the Great Lakes water levels high?

Water level (the height of the lake surface above sea level) is influenced by many factors, including precipitation, snowmelt runoff, drought, evaporation rates, and people withdrawing water for multiple uses. Water temperature is influenced by many factors, too, but most directly by air temperature.

Why is the ocean salty but not great lakes?

Rain replenishes freshwater in rivers and streams, so they don’t taste salty. However, the water in the ocean collects all of the salt and minerals from all of the rivers that flow into it. In other words, the ocean today probably has a balanced salt input and output (and so the ocean is no longer getting saltier).

What’s the difference between the Great Lakes and a sea?

Although the concept of “lake” and “sea” can be confusing, there are fundamental differences between the two bodies of water. The major differences between a lake and a sea are; A lake is enclosed on all sides by land and does not connect to a larger water body like an ocean, while a sea connects to an ocean.

Are the Great Lakes actually inland seas?

The Oceanic Nature of the Great Lakes A vast inland sea containing nearly a quarter of the world’s fresh water—enough to flood the lower 48 states to a depth of almost ten feet—the Great Lakes contain upwards of 35,000 islands, and their 10,000 miles of shore rival that of the US ocean coastlines.

Does sea level rise affect the Great Lakes?

All five of the Great Lakes are high above sea level. As shown in the elevation profile below, Lake Ontario is the lowest in elevation, 243 feet above sea level; Lake Superior breaks 600 feet. So they are in no direct risk of rising sea level. The biggest drop in elevation is the famous Niagara Falls.

Do the Great Lakes have high and low tides?

The answer is yes, our Great Lakes do have tides that occur twice each day, but they are much smaller in scale and barely noticeable unlike the ocean. The largest “lake tide” that happens is called the Great Lakes spring tide, and is less than 5 centimeters, or 2 inches in height.

Which Great Lake is the deepest?

Lake Superior

• Not only is Lake Superior the largest of the Great Lakes, it also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world.
• With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes.

What is the depth of the Great Lakes in feet?

The Great Lakes by Depth Rank Great Lake Average Depth (Feet) 1 Superior 483 2 Ontario 283 3 Michigan 279 4 Erie 210

Are the Great Lakes bigger than an ocean?

The Great Lakes are more akin to freshwater Inland seas than oceans, though they do bear a resemblance to oceans. The lakes are very large, though not when compared to an ocean. But from most locations you can’t see across them, so they can appear as vast as an ocean.

What happens to the water in the Great Lakes as depth decreases?

As the depth decreases, there might be some expansion of the surface area, but that’s mostly temporary – it increases the evaporation rate without increasing the inflow, so water is lost over time. In contrast, the Great Lakes have an outflow into the ocean, which carries away a lot of the dissolved salts and sediment.

How deep is the average depth of Lake Superior?

The lake’s average depth is 483 feet while its deepest point is 1,333 ft. Lake Superior holds 2,900 cubic miles of water which is enough to cover South and North America to a depth of 12 inches. Jeffrey Val Klump was the first person to reach the deepest point of the lake on July 30, 1985. Lake Ontario