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Lake Erie Facts & Worksheets

Lake Erie is the fourth largest, southernmost, and shallowest of the five Great Lakes in North America.

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Lake Erie, the fourth largest, southernmost, and shallowest of the five Great Lakes in North America, is situated on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States.

See the fact file below for more information on Lake Erie, or you can download our 30-page Lake Erie worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • Many people credit the Frenchman Étienne Brûlé with discovering Lake Erie in 1615; however, Louis Jolliet, a French Canadian adventurer, was likely the first European to observe the lake when the Iroquois were in the area.
  • The British established trade along Lake Erie while working with the Iroquois.
  • A basin or lowland that existed long before the Pleistocene Ice Age, which began around 2 million years ago, is where Lake Erie’s existence began. This area of the lowland was a valley of the Erigan River.
  • Erie, the Native Americans who resided along the lake’s southern shore, is where the lake takes its name.
  • The name derives from the Iroquoian word erielhonan, which means “long tail.” 
  • During the 1810s and 1820s, Americans started constructing canals in Lake Erie.
  • With the building of the Erie Canal, the first navigable waterway from the Atlantic Ocean to the upper Midwest was established, connecting the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie.
  • The canal gave Ohio farmers a reasonably quick and affordable way to get their goods to market. Cleveland quickly expanded and rose to prominence as one of Ohio’s major industrial hubs as a result of its location on Lake Erie.
  • The English and American troops and navy sought complete control over the lake during the War of 1812. Controlling Lake Erie would make it simpler for one side to transfer troops and supplies to invade the other’s territory.

BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE

  • The pivotal American naval triumph in the War of 1812 was the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • On September 10, 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry led an American fleet that had nine ships versus the British fleet’s six.
  • The weapons of the British fleet, however, had an extended range and higher accuracy.
  • After the British fleet sank Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence, he transferred his flag to the Niagara (which had not yet engaged any adversarial vessels), and the tide of battle changed.
  • Perry ordered the Niagara to smash the leading British vessel as his sailors opened fire on the British crew. By dusk, Perry had secured the surrender of the British fleet.
  • Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Western New York were no longer in danger of a British invasion due to the American victory that resulted in control of Lake Erie.
  • Between the United States and the American Indians of the Ohio Country in the late 1700s and early 1800s, Lake Erie also served as part of the borders in these treaties. 

LAKE ERIE PHYSICAL FEATURES

  • Located on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States, Lake Erie is bordered by the states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York on its western, southern, and eastern sides, and the Canadian province of Ontario, notably the Ontario Peninsula, on its northern shore.
  • The lake has a maximum width of 57 miles, and its principal axis stretches for 241 miles (388 km) from west-southwest to east-northeast.
  • Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, with a mean surface height of 570 feet (170 meters) above sea level. 
  • Its deepest point is 210 feet deep. The lake level fluctuates for brief periods frequently due to storms, and near the lake’s ends, these changes can reach several feet. The lake divides into three basins, and each essentially serves as three separate lakes: the western, central, and eastern basins.
  • The lake’s western basin, which has a maximum depth of 19 meters and an average depth of 7.4 meters (24 feet), is the shallowest and most turbid area (62 ft). The average depth of the central basin, which ranges from a maximum of 25 meters to a depth of 18.3 meters, is relatively uniform (82 ft). Lastly, with an average depth of 24 meters (80 feet) and a maximum depth of 64 meters, the eastern basin is the deepest of the three basins (210 ft).

LAKE ERIE RIVERS

  • The Detroit, Huron, and Raisin rivers in Michigan; the Maumee, Portage, Sandusky, Cuyahoga, and Grand rivers in Ohio; the Cattaraugus Creek in New York; and the Grand River in Ontario are the lake’s main tributary rivers.
  • The Detroit River serves as Erie’s main inlet and is located beneath Lake Huron.
  • The Niagara River serves as the lake’s primary natural outlet. It generates hydroelectricity for Canada and the United States as it spins massive turbines near Niagara Falls in Lewiston, New York, and Queenston, Ontario.
  • Some outflow occurs through the Welland Canal, a section of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which diverts water for ship passages from Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie, to St. Catharines on Lake Ontario.

LAKE ERIE FISHES

  • One of the greatest freshwater commercial fisheries in the world is found in Lake Erie. Fish populations in Lake Erie are the most numerous of the Great Lakes, partly due to the lake’s comparatively mild temperatures and an abundance of plankton, which is the fundamental component of the food chain.
  • The lake is stocked with steelhead, walleye, pickerel, smallmouth bass, perch, bass, trout, salmon, whitefish, smelt, coho salmon, lake whitefish, and a variety of other fish.
  • Yellow perch and walleye make up most of the commercial catch, although there are also significant amounts of white bass and rainbow smelt caught. Rainbow trout is also a target for some anglers, along with walleye and yellow perch.
  • The lake sturgeon is the largest and most recognizable fish that inhabits its waters.

LAKE ERIE BIRDS

  • Millions of migrating songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl linger in Lake Erie marshes to eat and rest every spring and fall throughout their long migrations, making the Lake Erie Marsh Region an internationally significant area for migratory birds.

LAKE ERIE CONCERNS

  • The lake has a relatively brief water retention time of 2.6 years due to its small size and shallow nature.
  • Environmental problems in Lake Erie, including invasive species, pollution, eutrophication, algae blooms, and overfishing, have been a source of news for years.
  • A species’ migratory route from the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Lawrence River into Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes was created when the Erie Canal was built in 1825. The lake’s ecosystem has undergone significant change from its original state due to many well-established invasive species. 
  • The rainbow smelt, alewife, white perch, and common carp are prevalent non-native fish species.
  • The lake is stocked with non-native sportfish, including rainbow and brown trout.
  • Other invasive species like zebra, quagga mussels, goby, and grass carp have recently overrun the whole Lake Erie environment, igniting a public debate over the dangers they are bringing.
  • By the 1960s, industrial and agricultural sources had contributed significantly to Lake Erie’s excessive pollution.
  • Before the enormous Cuyahoga River Fire in June 1969, the lake’s pollution did not receive much notice. 
  • This Lake Erie tributary was so heavily polluted with petrochemicals from Cleveland and other Ohio cities that it caught fire. Due to its physical qualities and the surrounding land use, Lake Erie is the most prone to eutrophication or the result of too much phosphorus.
  • Eutrophication in Lake Erie has encouraged harmful cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) blooms in the western basin, hypoxia in the central gulf brought on by the decomposition of dying algae, and nuisance algae in the east bay that can clog water intakes, obstruct recreational uses and degrade aquatic habitat.
  • Cyanobacterial blooms release potent toxins that endanger drinking water supplies, fish populations, beach quality, recreational opportunities along the coast, and the lake’s general ecological health.
  • Since commercial fishing started in the Great Lakes in the 1800s, a variety of anthropogenic influences have had a significant impact on the species that are targeted and captured.
  • The most prominent commercial species in Lake Erie originally was the lake whitefish, but overfishing caused their numbers to drop in the 1950s drastically.

LAKE ERIE ISLANDS

  • With the Detroit and Niagara Rivers serving as its two connecting channels, Lake Erie contains 1,773 islands.
  • The Lake Erie basin islands offer native species a haven from some diseases, invading species, and overabundant species that threaten their survival in mainland settings.
  • More than a million people travel to the Western Lake Erie Islands annually, making them a particularly well-liked destination.
  • These island economies mostly rely on tourism, which also helps mainland firms by increasing demand for goods and services, including entertainment, accommodation, food, and transportation.
  • The largest island in the western basin of Erie is Pelee Island.
  • Pelee Island is one of Canada’s biodiverse zones with the highest species concentration.
  • It is the home of three species of salamanders- red-spotted, small-mouthed, and blue-spotted salamanders. 
  • Numerous endangered species, like the Blue Racer snake, can also be found on Pelee Island.
  • Northern Shoveller, Gadwall, American Wigeon, songbirds such as Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, and Song Sparrows, as well as turtles, are among the species that frequent and enjoy the marsh.
  • The second-largest island in the archipelago of the Lake Erie Islands, shared by the United States and Canada, is Kelleys Island, also situated in Lake Erie’s western basin. 
  • A town in Erie County, Ohio, Kelleys Island, was initially named Sandusky Island by the British.
  • Soon, it was named after brothers Datus and Irad Kelley, who acquired the entire island in 1840.
  • In the island’s forest and shrub thickets, common plant species like hackberry and prickly ash serve as notable hosts for the larvae of the Snout Butterfly and Giant Swallowtail, respectively.
  • The third-largest island in the Lake Erie Islands is South Bass Island, a small island in western Lake Erie that is a part of Put-in-Bay Township, a summertime tourist spot.
  • The South Bass islands are also home to unique wildlife.
  • Ambystoma salamanders use these woodland pools at the Middle Bass Forested Wetland Preserve to swim, mate, and deposit their eggs at night in the early spring. American toads also use these pools to lay their eggs in the spring. 
  • Rare Blanding’s Turtles and white-tailed deer that crossed the ice to the South Bass in 2000 have both been found in damp areas on Middle Bass Island. 
  • The Bass islands of Lake Erie are also home to raccoons, eastern cottontails, red foxes, and coyotes.
  • The only designated wilderness area in the American state of Ohio is West Sister Island. 
  • The United States Coast Guard and the United States government jointly own this island.
  • To preserve the largest wading bird nesting colony in the Great Lakes of the United States, access to this 82-acre island has been restricted to researchers only and still needs authorization. Great blue herons, great egrets, black-crowned night herons, double-crested cormorants, and other birds use the tall hackberry trees as nesting locations. 

LAKE ERIE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

  • Point Pelee National Park, Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, Kelleys Island State Park, Marblehead Lighthouse State Park, Presque Isle State Park, and Port Erie Bicentennial Tower are some of the tourist attractions in Lake Erie.
  • Like Canada’s Point Pelee National Park and the designated Scenic Byways that run along the U.S. side, Lake Erie is home to several well-known coastal tourist spots.
  • At Point Pelee and Long Point, where migratory birds pause after crossing the open lake, birdwatching is a popular springtime activity.
  • Moreover, the best way to see and enjoy the water of Lake Erie is through kayaking, dinner on a cruise, swimming, fishing, paddle boarding, jet skiing, and parasailing.
  • Museums, beaches, towers, vineyards, and amusement parks are also fun activities around the lake tourists enjoy.

LAKE ERIE INTERESTING FACTS

  • The Lake Erie watershed is home to over twelve million people, including seventeen urban centers with populations greater than 50,000. For around eleven million of these people, the lake serves as their drinking water source.
  • Various waterways connect Lake Erie, many of which were essential for trade purposes: the Niagara River, as well as the Welland Canal, links Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, while Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair can also be reached from the Detroit River.
  • Lake Erie is the warmest and most productive of the Great Lakes due to its three separate basins, which offer a range of offshore habitats.
  • Due to eutrophication and pollution, Lake Erie was labeled a “dead lake” in the 1960s.
  • The last of the Great Lakes that Europeans visited was Lake Erie.
  • The “Walleye Capital of the World” is the western end of Lake Erie, which produces more walleye per hectare than any other lake in the world.
  • The excellent fishing in Lake Erie generates over $1 billion in economic growth and 10,000 jobs annually.
  • In Lake Erie, there have been over 2,000 shipwrecks, but only 375 have been discovered. Lake Erie has seen the sinking of everything from tugboats to steamers, ferries, and fishing vessels.

Lake Erie Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Lake Erie across 30 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Lake Erie. Lake Erie, the fourth largest, southernmost, and shallowest of the five Great Lakes in North America, is situated on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States.

Lake Erie Worksheets
Lake Erie Worksheets
Lake Erie Worksheets

Download includes the following worksheets.

  1. Lake Erie Facts 
  2. Mapping Lake Erie
  3. Something Fishy
  4. TwoERIE Spots
  5. Island Collage
  6. Erie’s Fact Tour
  7. Lake Erie Profile
  8. Give and Lake
  9. Erie’s Rights
  10. Be Great to the Lake
  11. The Lake’s Greatness

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lake Erie?

Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes of North America and the fourth largest lake in the world. It is located between the US state of Ohio and the Canadian province of Ontario.

How deep is Lake Erie?

The average depth of Lake Erie is about 62 feet (19 meters), with the deepest point reaching about 210 feet (64 meters).

What is the source of Lake Erie’s water?

Lake Erie’s main water source is precipitation and runoff from the surrounding watershed. The lake also receives water from rivers and streams, including the Detroit River, which flows into the lake from Lake St. Clair.

What is the largest city on Lake Erie?

Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest city on Lake Erie’s shores.

What is the purpose of the Lake Erie water snake?

The Lake Erie water snake is a protected species that inhabit the rocky and marshy shores of Lake Erie. They play an important role in the ecosystem by controlling populations of fish and other prey species. Additionally, they provide food for larger predators, such as birds of prey and raccoons.

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Link will appear as Lake Erie Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 9, 2023

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