Lake Size: 25744 km2 9940 sq mi Shoreline Length (Miles): 1370 km 850 miles Deepest Depth: 64 m 210 ft Latitude: 42.2 Longitude: -81.2 Lake Level Above Sea Level: 174 m 571 ft
Information: Lake Erie (pronounced /ˈɪri/) (French: Lac Érié) is the fourth largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes[4][5] and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario, on the south by the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan. The lake is named after the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived along its southern shore.
Lake Erie (42.2° N, 81.2° W) has a mean elevation of 571 feet (174 m)[1] above sea level. It has a surface area of 9,940 square miles (25,745 km²) with a length of 241 miles (388 km) and breadth of 57 miles (92 km) at its widest points.
It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes with an average depth of 62 feet (19 m) and a maximum depth of 210 feet (64 m).[1] For comparison, Lake Superior has an average depth of 483 feet (147 m), a volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km³) and shoreline of 2,726 miles (4385 km). Because it is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes.
Lake Erie is primarily fed by the Detroit River (from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair) and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario. Navigation downstream is provided by the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include the Grand River, the Huron River, the Maumee River, the Sandusky River and the Cuyahoga River.
Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, is located on a peninsula extending into the lake. Several islands are found in the western end of the lake; these belong to Ohio except for Pelee Island and 8 neighboring islands, which are part of Ontario. The cities of Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; Port Stanley, Ontario; Monroe, Michigan; and Cleveland, Ohio are located on the shores of Lake Erie.
The drainage basin covers 30,140 square miles (78,000 km2).
Historic High Water The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels in October and November. The normal highwater mark is 2.00 feet (0.61 m) above datum (569.2 ft or 173.5 meters). In the summer of 1986, Lake Erie reached its highest level at 5.08 feet (1.55 m) above datum.[9] The high water records were set from 1986 (April) through January 1987. Levels ranged from 4.33 feet (1.32 m) to 5.08 feet (1.55 m) above Chart Datum.[9]
Historic Low Water Lake Erie experiences its lowest levels in the winter. The normal lowwater mark is 1.50 feet (0.46 m) above datum (569.2 ft or 173.5 meters). In the winter of 1934, Lake Erie reached its lowest level at 1.50 feet (0.46 m) below datum.[9] Monthly low water records were set from July 1934 through June 1935. During this twelve month period water levels ranged from 1.50 feet (0.46 m) to the Chart Datum.
Fishing
Fisheries
Summer morning west of Cleveland
Lake Erie is home to one of the world's largest freshwater commercial fisheries. Once a mainstay of communities around the lake, commercial fishing is now predominantly based in Canadian communities, with a much smaller fishery—largely restricted to yellow perch—in Ohio. The Ontario fishery is one of the most intensively managed in the world. It was one of the first fisheries in the world managed on individual transferable quotas and features mandatory daily catch reporting and intensive auditing of the catch reporting system. Still, the commercial fishery is the target of critics who would like to see the lake managed for the exclusive benefit of sport fishing and the various industries serving the sport fishery.
Commercial landings are dominated by yellow perch and walleye, with substantial quantities of rainbow smelt and white bass also taken. Anglers target walleye and yellow perch, with some effort directed at rainbow trout. A variety of other species are taken in smaller quantities by both commercial and sport fleets.
Management of the fishery is by consensus of all management agencies with an interest in the resource (the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan and the province of Ontario) under the mandate of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, which is driven by comprehensive fisheries assessment programs and sophisticated mathematical modeling systems. The Commission remains the source of considerable recrimination, primarily from United States based angler and charter fishing groups with a historical antipathy to the commercial fishery. This conflict is complex, dating from the 1960s, with in U.S. fisheries management that led to elimination of commercial fishing in most U.S. Great Lakes states. The process began in Michigan, and its evolution is well documented in Szylvian (2004), using Lake Michigan as a case study. The underlying issues are universal, wherever sport and commercial fishing coexist, but their persistence in the Lake Erie context, one of the most intensively scrutinized and managed fisheries, suggests that these conflicts are cultural, not scientific, and therefore not resolvable by reference to ecological data. These debates are largely driven by social, political and economic issues, not ecology.
The lake consists of a long list of well established introduced species. Common non-indigenous fish species include the rainbow smelt, alewife, white perch and common carp. Non-native sport fish such as rainbow trout and brown trout are stocked specifically for anglers to catch. Attempts failed to stock coho salmon and its numbers are once again dwindling.
Sour cherry orchard on shoreline
at Leamington, Ontario
The lake has recently been plagued with a number of invasive species, including Zebra and quagga mussels, the goby and the grass carp. Zebra mussels and gobies have been credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie.
Use the map tools to zoom in or out to get a better lake view. Be the first to list a property at this lake. Sign up or log in then 'Contact Us' with the lake name and your user id for a free listing. Please check back soon!
