Lake Superior
The largest freshwater lake in the world by area
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, spanning about 31,700 square miles (82,100 km²) along the northern edge of the Great Lakes. Cold, deep, and clear, it holds more water than all the other Great Lakes combined — enough to flood both North and South America under a foot of water. Its rocky, forested shores along Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario feel more like a northern sea than a lake.
The lake reaches depths of about 1,330 feet (406 m) and stays cold year-round, which keeps its water famously clear and its storms famously dangerous — sudden gales have sunk many ships, including the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald. Carved by glaciers from ancient bedrock, Superior sits at the head of the Great Lakes chain, draining slowly eastward toward Lake Huron and, eventually, the Atlantic.
Related
- MichiganThe Great Lakes State, two peninsulas surrounded by fresh water
- MinnesotaThe Land of 10,000 Lakes, headwaters of the Mississippi
- Pictured Rocks National LakeshoreMineral-streaked sandstone cliffs on Lake Superior, the first national lakeshore
- Isle Royale National ParkRoadless Lake Superior island famed for its wolves and moose
- The Great LakesThe largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth