Basic Information
Physical Facts


		Great Lake					Totals
Feature	Units	Superior	Michigan	Huron	Erie	Ontario
Average Depth^a	feet	483	279	195	62	283
	meters	147	85	59	19	86
Maximum Depth^a	feet	1,332	925	750	210	802
	meters	406	282	229	64	244
Volume^a	miles³	2,900	1,180	850	116	393	5,439
	km³	12,100	4,920	3,540	484	1,640	22,684
Water Area	miles²	31,700	22,300	23,000	9,910	7,340	94,250
	km²	82,100	57,800	59,600	25,700	18,960	244,160
Land Drainage Area^b	miles²	49,300	45,600	51,700	30,140	24,720	201,460
	km²	127,700	118,000	134,100	78,000	64,030	521,830
Shoreline Length^c	miles	2,726	1,638	3,827	871	712	10,210^d
	km	4,385	2,633	6,157	1,402	1,146	17,017^d

Population:	U.S. 1990	425,548	10,057,026	1,502,687	10,017,530	2,704,284	24,707,075
	Canada 1991	181,573		1,191,467	1,664,639	5,446,611	8,484,290
Totals:		607,121	10,057,026	2,694,154	11,682,169	8,150,895	33,191,365

Retention Time	years	191	99	22	2.6	6

^{Notes: a} Measured at Low Water Datum.^b Land Drainage Area for Lake Huron includes St. Marys River. Lake Erie includes the St. Clair-Detroit system. Lake Ontario includes the Niagara River.^c Including islands. ^d These totals are greater than the sum of the shoreline length for the lakes because they include the connecting channels (excluding the St. Lawrence River). Source: Great Lakes Atlas