Today we drove to the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie (soo saint marie), one in Ontairo, one in Michigan, separated by St. Mary"s River. The Soo Locks allow ships to travel from Lake Superior to Lake Huron and beyond. Well, in a senior moment, I remembered the camera, but forgot to put that silly little memory card in it. Darn. So I'll bore you with Great Lakes Facts for a while.
Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are in both the United States and Canada. Only Lake Michigan is entirely within the United States.
The Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world's fresh surface water, about six quadrillion gallons of water. If all that water was spread evenly across the U S, the entire country would be covered in 9.5 feet of water.
Lake Superior ranks as the largest lake by surface area in the world. It contains 10% of the earth's fresh water. Waves have been known to reach more than 20 feet in height.
The finger-like formation of Lake Michigan causes the water entering it to circulate slowly, and on average remains there for 99 years before leaving the basin through the Straits of Mackinac. (Which I'm gazing at this very minute.)
Lake Huron has more than 30,000 islands, including the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin.
Lake Ontario has the oldest lighthouse on the U S side, at Fort Niagara, completed in 1818.
Lake Erie can have a differential from the eastern and western ends of as much as 16 feet, caused by high winds.
Are you hoping that I'll remember the camera next time?
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