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Explore
Fishing, beaches, science, boating, camping and wildlife are all part of Michigan’s coasts and the Great Lakes. Each Great Lake is unique, which can make living in and learning about the lakes fun and fascinating. Here is one place to begin exploring.
In the Know
- Approximately 35 million people — 24 million in the United States and about 9.8 million in Canada — live in the Great Lakes basin. That’s about eight percent of the U.S. population and about 32 percent of Canada’s.
- The Great Lakes — Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior — contain 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface freshwater.
- The five Great Lakes are among the world’s 15 largest lakes.
- Together, the Great Lakes cover more than 94,000 square miles (244,000 square kilometers) of surface area. That’s larger than the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
- The Great Lakes contain six quadrillion gallons (22.7 quadrillion liters) of freshwater — enough to submerge the entire continental United States in nearly 10 feet of water.
- More than 3,500 species of plants and animals live in the Great Lakes basin.
- More than 170 species of fish inhabit the Great Lakes, their tributaries, and connecting waterways.
- The total length of the Great Lakes shoreline (including islands) is about 11,000 miles.
Sources:
- The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery MICHU #03-400
- The Great Lakes Basin MICHU-SG-00-406
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Hot Topics
- Prescription for Clean Water. What we are pouring down our drains and into our water systems. See: Disposing unwanted medicines
- Netting Some Trouble. Don’t get caught up in fishing nets while you’re out on the water. See: Avoid commercial fishing nets
- Lake Invaders. On average, one new invasive species is introduced into the Great Lakes every eight months. See: The worst invaders
- Who’s Eating Whom? Students use body movement and pantomime to simulate feeding motions within the freshwater food web in this free lesson plan. See: FLOW
- What are quagga mussels? See: Fact sheet (PDF)
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