The largest lake in the world is Lake Superior. Upper Lake

Lake Superior is located in North America, on the border between Canada and the United States (Lake Superior) and belongs to the Great Lakes system. The largest freshwater lake in the world by water surface area. It occupies an area of 82,100 - 82,400 km2 and seriously surpasses the second largest in this discipline. big lake in Africa, Victoria (69.5 thousand km2).

Lake Superior is located at an altitude of about 180 meters above sea level and stretches approximately 560 kilometers in length and 260 kilometers in width. The maximum depth is 406 meters, and the volume of water contained almost never exceeds 12,000 km3.

The southern coast is more elevated, in the north, on the contrary, it is rocky, with heights reaching 400 meters. Therefore, the south is popular in terms of beach holiday, and on the northern Canadian coast, tourists go hiking. Lake Huron Superior is connected by the 112 km long St. Mary's River.

In winter, the lake never completely freezes, since the surface air temperature is almost always above 0 °C, and ice cover is possible near the coasts.

In winter, the ice in the Great Lakes system sometimes takes on a beautiful bluish tint. Michigan and Huron froze so beautifully in 2018. Moreover, the point is not the presence of any impurities in the water, but simply its exceptional purity.

Sunlight penetrates deeply into the ice structure, unlike snow cover, which is almost completely reflected by the edges of small crystals. The red part of the spectrum, the longest wavelengths, is mostly absorbed, while the blue part returns and is captured by the human eye.

That's why it's so beautiful in Argentina

Perito Moreno, Patagonia, photo by Christof Berger

The lake owes its modern name to its more elevated location relative to the rest of the Great Lakes; as for the local Indians of the Ojibwe tribe, they called the reservoir simply and succinctly: “Gichigami” or “Big Water”. Even, frankly speaking, it’s not very original: for some reason the Quichua Indians called a very large South American creature “Puma on the Rock.”

Dimensions: 563x257 km
Square: 82700 sq. km
Volume: 12 thousand cubic meters km
Coastline: 4385 km
Greatest depth: 406 m
Average depth: 147 m
Type of mineralization: fresh
Flowing river: Nipigon
Flowing river: St Mary's

About the Great Lakes System North America many people know: from school, from books about Indians, movies or from stories of travelers. One of the most legendary bodies of water on our planet attracts both scientists and tourists to its shores. So what is it like? Upper Lake: drainage or drainless, salty or fresh, where, on what continent is it located on the world map and to which sea basin does it belong? Let's try to understand these issues.

Description of Lake Verkhnee

This name belongs to the largest and deepest body of fresh water among the five Great Lakes. Geographical position Lake Superior - North America, eastern border and USA. The northern coast of the reservoir washes the Canadian province of Ontario. The western and southern shores already lie in the United States.

This is the second lake in the world in terms of fresh water reserves and the first in terms of mirror area. The area of Lake Superior is approximately 82.7 thousand square meters. km. It is believed that it is only five times smaller than the legendary Caspian Sea! The reservoir was formed in the second glacial period and is relatively “young”: it is about 10 thousand years old.

Why was the lake called Verkhny?

In the local language, the name of the lake is translated as “ big water" The first French settlers called it “the highest lake.” To understand which of Lake Superior or Michigan is located further north, just look at the map - it clearly illustrates the name Lake Superior.

What is interesting about this place?

The length of the entire coastline is 4385 m. The coastline is strongly indented in places, and two largest bays can be distinguished: Whitefish and Keweenaw. The mirror of the fresh lake is decorated with several islands: Apostle, Isle Royale (the largest with its own lake in the center), Madeleine and Mishipikoten. The Canadian coastline is mostly high and rocky, sometimes steep (up to 400 m in height). In addition to the landscapes of Lake Superior, which will give you wonderful photos and long-lasting memories, this body of water differs significantly from its neighbors in its characteristics.

Main characteristics of Lake Superior:

Temperature center is always +4 °C, Lake Superior never freezes due to strong storms in winter time. Ice can be observed near the shore from December until the first days of May. The water is always cold and very clear. In summer, off the coast, the water surface can warm up to +12 °C.
Depth(largest) Lake Superior - 406 m: few freshwater bodies can boast of such data. However, the average depth is about 147 m. Scientists have calculated the approximate total volume of water - 11.6 thousand cubic meters. km. This is approximately 10% of the total stock drinking water in the world.
Coordinates Lake Superior: 48° northern latitude and 87° west longitude.
The reservoir is at the mark 183 m above sea level. The origin of the basin in which Lake Superior was formed is the deformation of crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield by glaciers.
Length Lake Superior is approximately 616 km, width – 257 km.
Salinity Lake Superior less than 1‰ (fresh water).

What rivers flow into Lake Superior? The most significant tributary of all 300 rivers and streams is the Nipigon, but it does not have particularly large and deep tributaries. The reservoir also has one drainage – the St. Marys River, which flows into Lake Huron after 112 km. The upper one is rich in fish. Here you can find the king fish - medium and large sturgeon, many favorite varieties of so-called “red” fish: trout, whitefish, as well as pike, etc.

The direction and extent of Lake Superior is from west to east. The reservoir plays an important energy and shipping role in its region. Canada's largest port is . Lake Verkhneye is one of the stages of the waterway route through the locks in Atlantic Ocean(Gulf of St. Lawrence).

How to get there?

Most along Lake Superior begin in the cities of Thunder Bay and. You can reach them via Highway 17 or Highway 129, respectively. This big cities, where you can get from and by intercity bus. You can also take part in an amazing group excursion tour of the Great Lakes.

Lake Superior is the largest lake in the Great Lakes system in North America, the world's largest lake by area - excluding the Caspian Sea - and the world's third largest freshwater lake. volume of water. The maximum volume of Verkhny is 12,100 cubic kilometers. That's enough to fill all the other lakes in the system - Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario - and still have enough left over for two Lake Erie. Lake Superior is second in volume only to Russian Lake Baikal, the most deep lake on the planet, and African Tanganyika (Lake Tanganyika), off the coast of which the borders of four states converge.

The northern border of Lake Superior is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of Minnesota (Minnesota, USA). The states of Wisconsin and Michigan meet on the southern borders of Superior.
The lake appeared about 4,000 years ago as a result of melting ice and today is located at an altitude of 183.5 meters above sea level. The lake is a giant reservoir with with total area 82,400 square kilometers.
The maximum depth of Verkhny is 406 meters, the average is 147 meters, which makes it one of the deepest - and coldest! - lakes of North America, however, in the world list of the deepest lakes, Superior takes only 36th place. Maximum length Verkhny is 563 kilometers, maximum width- 257 kilometers. This area stores so much fresh water that it is enough to cover both Americas with a layer of water 30 centimeters deep. The coastline of Verkhniy is estimated at 4,387 kilometers, if you count its islands.

Lake Superior freezes from December to April. The most important ports on the lake are Ashland and Duluth in the USA and Thunder Bay in Canada. Clean fresh water is the reason why there are several national parks and protected areas, including Isle Royale Park, located on the island of the same name and owned by the state of Michigan, and the Canadian Pukaskwa National Park.

In the language of the Ojibwe Indians, the name of the lake sounds like “Gichigami”, which translates as “big water”. The first French explorers to reach the shores of this vast inland sea along the Ottawa River and Lake Huron in the 17th century, gave him modern name. True, in French “le lac supérieur” meant “the highest lake,” since Superior is located in the system above Lake Huron. Jesuit missionaries also called it "Lac Tracy". When the British established themselves in North America, the lake retained its French name, adapted to English.

More than 200 rivers feed the lake, and the largest among them are the Nipigon River, St. Louis River, Pigeon River, Pic River, White River and others.
Meanwhile, the lake's waters feed Huron through the St. Marys River. The largest of the islands in the lake is Isle Royale, and the island has several lakes, which, in turn, also have internal islands. Another large island, Madeline Island, belongs to the state of Wisconsin, and Michipicoten belongs to the province of Ontario.

Many shipping routes pass through Verkhneye, and at its bottom lie hundreds of sunken ships, because severe storms- not uncommon on the lake. A particularly large number of ships were lost near Cape Whitefish, the area around which is known as the “Tomb of the Great Lakes.” In addition, locals say that Verkhneye rarely gives up its dead, meaning that the lake is very cold, and low temperature inhibits the growth of bacteria, as a result of which the body has no chance of floating to the surface.

One of the most priceless riches of Lake Superior is its fish - more than 80 species of fish live in Verkhny, including valuable commercial ones such as trout, whitefish, salmon, carp, sturgeon, freshwater herring and many others. Some of them are accidentally or specially bred in the lake.

Along the shores of Lake Verkhnee there are many places intended for recreation and tourist trips. One of them is a provincial park with the same name as the lake. The park covers approximately 600 square kilometers in Ontario and includes several bays where hundreds of campsites have been built. Most of the tourist sites are open only in the summer, but scientific research is carried out here all year round.

Lake Superior is the name given by the pioneers to the largest lake on the North American continent.

This body of water is the northernmost of the Great Lakes, ranks second in the world ranking in terms of area and third in terms of fresh water reserves.

Lake Superior is one of the most beautiful natural attractions in the United States and Canada.

Great Lakes

A description of Lake Superior must begin with a description of the Great Lakes system. This is the name given to an extended and powerful chain of reservoirs located in the northern part of North America.

The huge chain consists of lakes such as Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Erie, Superior and smaller ones water bodies. Michigan belongs exclusively to the United States of America. The shorelines of the other four largest of the Great Lakes cross the US-Canadian border in one way or another. Lake Superior on the North American mainland is also no exception; it is also located on the border of two states.

The Great Lakes are an important part of the transport network of the two countries, as well as a place of pilgrimage for a huge number of tourists, primarily, of course, American and Canadian, because famous natural parks. In addition to its critical importance in the modern economy, the Great Lakes played a large role in the history of the United States, in particular, it was here that the famous naval battles between the Americans and the British took place.

The original name of this gigantic body of water has survived to this day. The Ojibwe Indians, who inhabited the shores of the lake before the arrival of Europeans, gave it the name “Geechi Gami,” which can be translated as “big water.” This historical name suits this impressively sized body of water perfectly.

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes system. In its longest part it reaches 616 meters, and in its widest part - 257 meters. The area of Lake Superior is huge, it is approximately 82.4 thousand square kilometers of water surface. This fact makes it the second largest area on the entire planet after the Caspian Sea, which is now considered a lake.

Lake Superior has a total volume of more than 11.5 thousand cubic kilometers (the maximum volume is more than 12 thousand cubic kilometers). This allows hydrologists to say that the reservoir contains a tenth of the world's fresh water reserves (the third largest in the world after our Baikal and Tanganyika in Africa). To imagine how huge this figure is, we can cite the following fact: if you distribute all the water in Verkhniy, spilling it over a huge plane, the area of which is equal to North and South America, you will get a layer of water of 0.3 meters. The volume of water in this reservoir exceeds the total volume of all other Great Lakes combined.

Upper Lake, despite its name, does not belong to the alpine category. It is located at an altitude of only 183.5 meters above sea level.

Lake Superior is also outside the deepest category. In terms of its depth, the reservoir claims only 36th place in the world ranking. Its average depth is 147 km, and its maximum depth is 406 meters. For comparison, the depth of Baikal is 1642 meters.

On the shores of the lake there is the Canadian province of Ontario on one side, and on the other side American states Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The coastline of Lake Superior stretches for more than 4,000 kilometers.

Hydrological regime

More than two hundred rivers and streams carry their waters into the lake. Among the largest are the Pigeon River, Nipigon, Peak, St. Louis, White and many others.

From Superior flows the large St. Marys River, which feeds Huron, the second of the Great Lakes chain.

Although average annual temperature Upper water is 4 degrees above zero, thanks to great depth and strong and frequent waves (strong storms often occur here in autumn and winter), the water surface almost never freezes completely. The last case of complete freezing was noted in the 70s of the twentieth century. The rest of the time it is covered with an ice crust only coastal strip water. Period coastal ice lasts from December to April.

The geographic location of Lake Superior contributes to moderate fluctuations in water levels. Maximum level falls on summer months during periods of heavy rainfall, and minimal during the winter months.

Geological history

Verkhneye is a relatively young American lake by geological standards. It was formed approximately 4-10 thousand years ago during the Ice Age. A powerful glacier, which at that time covered quite large areas North American continent, managed to push rocks stable Canadian Shield, thus forming a powerful and extensive recess in earth's surface. According to geologists, the glacier subsequently melted, giving rise to a gigantic reservoir with its melt waters, which spread over the entire area where all the Great American Lakes now lie. The impressively sized reservoir gradually shrank, and the contours of the modern lake chain began to appear, including coastline Upper Lake.

Islands

The largest of the upper lake islands is Isle Royale. It lives up to its “royal” name and reaches a length of 72 and a width of 14 kilometers. An interesting fact is that this island is often called “matryoshka”.

Why, you ask? It's simple: there are quite a lot of large lake, which also has an island. On this relatively small island there is a small pond on which smaller islands are scattered. Such a bizarre natural “architecture”.

Attractions

Important attractions of the Lake Superior region include specially protected natural areas. They include the famous American national park Isle Royale, located on the island of the same name, and the equally famous Canadian Pukaskwa National Park. Tourists and travel enthusiasts come here, because the lake, despite the fact that it has long been discovered by man, has retained its pristine beauty and comparative purity of water. Since Lake Superior is home to valuable fish species, this indicates the good ecological condition of the area.

Shipping

The largest and most important ports on the lake are the American ports of Ashland and Duluth, as well as the Canadian port of Thunder Bay.

The Verkhny region is the most important shipping area for the two states.

Since the lake is characterized by a violent and restless temperament, severe storms and tempests, a huge number of ships have been wrecked on it.

The cape became especially notorious in this regard. White Fish, which is sometimes called "tomb". It was here that many ships sank for certain reasons.

Local residents claim that the lake is very reluctant to give up its drowned people, who almost never float to the surface. Apparently, this is due to the extremely low temperature of the water and the low content of microorganisms in it.
Several dozen live in Verkhny valuable species ichthyofauna, many of which are caught industrially(including sturgeon, smelt, salmon, trout, carp, whitefish, freshwater herring, pike perch and others). At the beginning of the 17th century, Europeans who visited here reported almost three-meter sturgeon and two-meter pike.
About sixty species of orchids grow in the lake area.

Lake Superior is a freshwater body of water with a maximum area. It is located in North America. Overall size The lake is 82.4 thousand square kilometers. This lake ranks 3rd in terms of volume of fresh water on our land, with Baikal and Tanganyika in first and second place. Fresh water the lake has 11.6 thousand cubic kilometers. The average depth is 147 meters, the maximum is 406 meters. Lake Superior is located in the territory between Canada and the United States. (Find out at the same time). It is one of the Great Lakes, part of a chain of freshwater bodies of water located in the eastern part of North America between the United States and Canada. This system contains five lakes: Ontario, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Superior. And only Michigan belongs entirely to the USA. The remaining lakes are divided by a border.

On Canadian territory, the lake is located in a province called Ontario. On the western side of the lake is a state called Minnesota. From the southwestern part - Wisconsin. South part coast is located in Michigan.

Upper Lake is also united with a Canadian lake called Nipigon, and they are united by a small river. The appearance of Lake Bowl looks like a depression of tectonic origin. Due to frequent earthquakes, deep faults were formed. Glaciers were able to level the lake bottom. According to researchers, approximately 30,000 years ago in the eastern part of North America, all of it was under glaciers that came to these places from the north. Such glaciers were not permanent. The movement took place either to the North, leaving behind huge bowls, and then returned back again. Read about the waterfall here.

New formations

At the moment when the glaciers finally left the eastern territories of the continent, a lake was formed in this area, which is called modern science Algonquin. According to its area it was considered very huge and by all assumptions for a long time exceeded the size of Lake Baikal by 10 times. It could not exist for so long. By the end of time it was lost a large number of water that filled the St. Lawrence River. And when millennia passed, the Great Lakes were able to appear in this area.

These famous lakes are among the colossal wonders of the world. They are considered unique. These lakes form a hydrographic community within themselves. They were located 500 km from the Atlantic itself, and also 700 km. from the Hudson Strait. It is the largest lake system in North America and is located in the middle and upper part of the St. Lawrence River Basin. Sea Route - The Great Lakes are the most important shipping routes on eastern territory North America. In order to get from the port of Duluth, which is located on Lake Superior, to the upper reaches of the St. Lawrence River, you need to cover a path of more than 2000 km. The upper lake is the highest mountain in height, it has 183.6 m. This reservoir is fed by precipitation and water that flows in rivers.

Is Lake Superior drainage or drainless? Let's look at this issue. This lake is a drainage lake, its flow goes through the St. Marys River. From December to April, ice freezes occur in coastal areas. The water level in the lake is getting lower. Precipitation is a rare occurrence during this period of time, with sufficient water volume to maintain the level in the lake. The lowest level is from March to April. After this, the air temperature becomes higher and the coastal snow thaws. The rivers quickly begin to fill with water, and thus this leads to a rise in its level in the lake itself. The most significant water volume in Lake Superior can be observed in summer time, it is during this period that heavy rainfall occurs.