It has a surface area of 24,000 km² (10,000 sq. miles), an average depth of 19 meters (62 feet), and a retention time of 2.6 years. It contains 483 cubic kilometers of water. (For comparison, Lake Superior has an average depth of 483 feet, a volume of 12,232 cubic km and a retention time of 191 years.)
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 Great Lakes Waterway.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and became famously polluted in the 1960s and 1970s. Environmental regulation led to a great increase in water quality; however, invasive Zebra mussels currently threaten the entire Lake Erie ecosystem.
The American states Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York are located to the south of Lake Erie; Michigan lies to the west, and the Canadian province of Ontario lies to the north. Point Pelee National Park, the most southerly point of the Canadian mainland, is located on a peninsula extending into the lake.
The cities of Buffalo, New York, Erie, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio are located on the shores of Lake Erie.
History
See also: Cedar Point, Bass Island, Erie Canal, Welland Canal, Quagga Mussel, Zebra Mussel, Maumee Bay
| Great Lakes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Superior | Lake Michigan | Lake Huron | Lake Erie | Lake Ontario |