Located in North America, Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes and makes up 10% of the fresh water in Earth. Due to its size and depth, it is also the coldest, in temperate, of the Great Lakes randing between 32°F and 55°F.
What It Is Used For
In addition to its recreational use with swimming, boating and fishing, it also serves as a mode of transportation between its bordering areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. First used by Native Americans to assist in their fur trades, it is commonly used for transporting a variety of natural resources. The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald freight liner sank in Lake Superior in 1975 while carrying a load of Taconite to a steel factory.
Bordering State Parks
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
- Grand Island National Recreation Area
- Isle Royale National Park
- Lake Superior Provincial Park
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
- Pukaskwa National Park
- Tahquamenon Falls State Park
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
Largest freshwater lake by surface area
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Fact:
The deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes
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Fact:
It is a rift lake
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Fact:
Also known as lake Gitche Gumee, meaning "big water"
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Borders
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Fact:
Surface area of 31,820 miles
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Depth
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Shore length
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Fact:
Larger than South Carolina
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Retention time
191 years
