Name: ______________
Great Lakes Activity – 60 points
Directions: Use the Wikipedia entry for Great Lakes and any other available sources to
answer each question below in the space provided.
Turn completed file into Hand-In folder named:
Period_LastName_GL (ex. 7_Hayden_GL).
1. When we say the Great Lakes, we know exactly which ones we are referring to, but are
there other lakes known as Great Lakes? Where are they and how many “Great Lakes” are in
that system?
1a. What would you have to pass through to reach the Atlantic Ocean if you were sailing
from the Great Lakes?
2. Are the Great Lakes made of Fresh Water or Salt Water? How much of the world’s
freshwater is contained in the Great Lakes? How much of the United States’ freshwater?
3. How old are the Great Lakes? How did they form at this time?
4. The article says that “many invasive species have been introduced due to trade in the area,
and some threaten the region's biodiversity.” What are invasive species, in your own words?
5. How many Canadian provinces share a border with the Great Lakes? How many U.S.
States?
6. Which is the only of the Great Lakes found entirely within the United States?
7. Which Great Lake is the largest (surface area)?
8. Which Great Lake is the deepest?
9. Which Great Lake is the smallest (surface area)?
10. Which Great Lake is the shallowest?
11. System Profile of the Great Lakes: In between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, there is a
210 foot drop in water level. What is located here?
Bonus: If boats obviously can’t navigate the feature found in Question #11, how can they
travel from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario?
12. Why are not all ocean-going vessels (such as large container ships) able to navigate the
Great Lakes?
13. Why is winter shipping on the Great Lakes a problem?
14. What was the name given to the glacier that provided the meltwater that formed the
Great Lakes around 10,000 years ago?
15. How does Lake Effect snow form? Pennsylvania’s “Lake-Effect snow” comes from what
Great Lake, do you think?
16. There are two categories on this Wikipedia site named Fauna and Flora. What do these
two words refer to?
16. Under Fauna: Zebra mussels (an invasive species to the Great Lakes) have had a
negative influence. How have they become a nuisance and harm the ecological system?
17. Also under Fauna, the picture of Palisade Head on Lake Superior in Minnesota is an
obvious example of which shoreline feature which we discussed last week?
18. What is an ecological disadvantage of logging the riparian zones around the Great
Lakes?
19. What piece of legislation has made a positive impact on the amount of pollution in the
Great Lakes?
20. What are two types of pollution that have troubled the Great Lakes (mention how each
enters the water system)?
21. How long have ships been sailing the Great Lakes, and what canal now makes it possible
for these ships to reach the Mississippi River?
22. What do we call ships that trade primarily on the Great Lakes and what do we call ocean
vessels that enter the Great Lakes?
23. How much money would be lost from the U.S. economy if fish populations were totally
depleted by overfishing, pollution, invasive species, etc.
24. In which Great Lakes did the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sink? (I strongly suggest if
you are doing this assignment at home, to YouTube Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
and play it while you are doing your work – although you are sure to get some strange looks
from your parents/friends).
25. What body prevents and resolves disputes between the United States and Canada as to
how the Great Lakes will be used? Can you think of any topic that would have to be settled
between the two countries (don’t even think of saying no)?
From the Links below the article:
26. Name three major cities located on Lake Michigan.
27. How many states and how many Canadian provinces border Lake Erie.
Try using the search Find feature (command + F) to answer the following questions
without rereading the entire article. .
28. There is enough water in the Great lakes to cover the 48 contiguous U.S. states to a
uniform depth of ___________ feet of water.
29. Approximately how many islands are located within the Great Lakes?
Lastly, some math work.
30. Using the chart under Bathymetry, could the water from all of the other Great Lakes fit
into Lake Superior? Be sure to explain how you mathematically figured this out.