The Great Lakes, also called the Laurentian Great Lakes and the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of interconnected freshwater lakes primarily in the upper mid-east region of North America, on the Canada–United States border, which connect to the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence River. They consist of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, although hydrologically, there are four lakes, Superior, Erie, Ontario, and Michigan-Huron. The connected lakes form the Great Lakes Waterway.
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.
Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes of North America, is also the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area, and the third largest freshwater lake by volume. The lake is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north, the U.S. state of Minnesota to the west, and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the south. The farthest north and west of the Great Lakes chain, Superior has the highest elevation of all five great lakes and drains into the St. Mary's River.
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as its westerly counterpart, to which it is connected by the 5-mile-wide (8.0 km), 20-fathom-deep Straits of Mackinac. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the state of Michigan in the United States. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the Huron people inhabiting the region. The Huronian glaciation was named due to evidence collected from Lake Huron region. The northern parts of the lake include the North Channel and Georgian Bay. Across the lake to the southwest is Saginaw Bay. The main inlet is the St. Marys River, and the main outlet is the St. Clair River.
The St. Clair River is a 40.5-mile-long (65.2 km) river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is a significant component in the Great Lakes Waterway, with shipping channels permitting cargo vessels to travel between the upper and lower Great Lakes.
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 130 miles (210 km) long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to 178 miles (286 km) when one includes the South Branch. The river's watershed drains an area of approximately 2,020 square miles (5,200 km2) and drains portions of eight counties in southwest Michigan: Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Hillsdale, Kent and Ottawa. The river has a median flow of 1,863 cubic feet per second (52.8 m3/s) at New Richmond, upstream from its mouth at Saugatuck.
The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately 116 miles (187 km) long, draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan. Its entire course, with that of its tributary, the Brule River, forms part of the boundary between the two states.
The St. Joseph River is a 206 miles (332 km) long tributary of Lake Michigan flowing generally westerly through southern Michigan and northern Indiana, United States, to its terminus on the southeast shore of the lake. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important to Native Americans and greatly aided in the colonial exploration, settlement and administration of New France and the nascent United States as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The city of Chicago is located in northern Illinois, United States, at the south western tip of Lake Michigan. It sits on the Saint Lawrence Seaway continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, an ancient trade route connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds.
The White River Light is a lighthouse on Lake Michigan near the city of Whitehall, Michigan. It sits on a thin peninsula of land separating Lake Michigan from White Lake. The building was built in 1875.
The Yellow Dog River flows through Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 31.6 miles (50.9 km) in length, with about 85 miles (137 km) of tributaries. The main branch begins at the outflow from Bulldog Lake in the Ottawa National Forest on the boundary between Baraga and Marquette counties. The river's mouth is on Lake Independence, near Big Bay, Michigan, and is part of the Lake Superior watershed.
The Ontonagon River is a river flowing to Lake Superior on the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The main stem of the river is 25 miles (40 km) long and is formed by a confluence of several longer branches, portions of which have been collectively designated as a National Wild and Scenic River. Several waterfalls occur on the river including Agate Falls and Bond Falls.
The Tittabawassee River is a stream that flows in a generally southeasterly direction through the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river begins at Secord Lake in Clement Township, at the confluence of the East Branch and the Middle Branch. From there it flows through Gladwin, Midland and Saginaw counties where, as a major tributary of the Saginaw River, it flows into it at Saginaw. Its tributaries include the Chippewa, Pine, Molasses, Sugar, and Tobacco rivers.
The Whitefish River is an 11.9-mile-long (19.2 km) river on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The mouth of the river is in Delta County at 45°54′34″N86°58′01″W on the Little Bay De Noc of Lake Michigan. The main branch of the river is formed by the confluence of the east and west branches at 46°03′25″N86°52′17″W.
The geography of Indiana comprises the physical features of the land and relative location of U.S. State of Indiana. Indiana is in the north-central United States and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Michigan to the north and northeast, Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. The entire southern boundary is the Ohio River.
The Pere Marquette River is a river in Michigan in the United States. The main stream of this river is 63.9 miles (102.8 km) long, running from Lake County south of Baldwin into the Pere Marquette Lake, and from there into Lake Michigan.
Michigan consists of two peninsulas that lie between east longitude, and are separated by the Straits of Mackinac, and some nearby islands. With the exception of two small areas that are drained by the Mississippi River by way of the Wisconsin River in the Upper Peninsula and by way of the Kankakee-Illinois River in the Lower Peninsula, Michigan is drained by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed and is the only state with the majority of its land thus drained.
The Michigamme River is a 67.0-mile-long (107.8 km) tributary of the Menominee River on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. Via the Menominee River, its water flows to Lake Michigan.
Paint River is a 45.5-mile-long (73.2 km) river in the U.S. state of Michigan.
Indian River is a 59.1-mile-long (95.1 km) tributary of the Manistique River on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. It rises out of Hovey Lake at 46°17′36″N86°42′20″W on Hiawatha National Forest land in Alger County and flows south and east through a lake district and on through Schoolcraft County. The river flows into the 8,659 acre (35 km²) Indian Lake at 46°17′36″N86°42′20″W and flows out at 45°59′30″N86°17′15″W. It then flows east and south about 2.5 miles where it merges with the Manistique River, which then flows through Manistique and into Lake Michigan at 45°56′56″N86°14′45″W.
