Lake Erie

Lake Erie, named after the Erie Tribe, is one of the Great Lakes of North America. Erie is the shallowest with a maximum depth of 212 feet, and the smallest (length 241 miles, width 57 miles) of all the Great Lakes. It is bordered in the U.S. by Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Michigan.

Once inhabited by a number of Native American tribes, Lake Erie got its name from the Erie tribe that bordered its southern edge. It was not until 1669 that the first European, Louis Jolliet, documented the sight of the lake. Although various historical accounts dispute that he was, in fact, the first. In recent years, the lake has been contaminated by petrochemicals coming from Ohio. Dubbed the "dead lake," the Clean Water Act of 1972 was enacted in part because of the pollution of Lake Erie.

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources: The History of Lake Erie