GREAT LAKES DRY

Climate change and more droughts in coming decades could add to pressure to ship Great Lakes water to thirsty regions, at the same time global warming could cause the lakes to shrink, creating a nightmare scenario, said Peter Annin, author of an influential book on the politics of Great Lakes water. Lake Erie Lake Erie is the eleventh largest lake in the world (by surface area), and the fourth largest of the Great Lakes in surface area and the smallest by volume. Ninety-five percent of Lake Erie's total inflow of water comes via the Detroit River water from all the "upper lakes" -- Superior, Michigan and Huron -- the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and numerous tributaries. The rest comes from precipitation. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and is especially vulnerable to fluctuating water levels. Lake Huron Lake Huron is the second largest Great Lake by surface area and the fifth largest freshwater lake in the world. It has the longest shoreline of the Great Lakes, counting the shorelines of its 30,000 islands. Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is the third largest Great Lake by surface area and the sixth largest freshwater lake in the world. Because Lake Michigan is joined to Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac, they are considered one lake hydrologically. Many rivers and streams flow into Lake Michigan, and the major tributaries are the Fox-Wolf, the Grand and the Kalamazoo. Lake Ontario Lake Ontario, the 14th largest lake in the world, is the smallest of the Great Lakes in surface area. It ranks fourth among the Great Lakes in maximum depth, but its average depth is second only to Lake Superior. Lake Ontario lies 325 ft (99 m) below Lake Erie, at the base of Niagara Falls. Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes in surface area and volume. Lake Superior could contain all the other Great Lakes plus three more lakes the size of Lake Erie. Water flows into the lake from many small rivers and streams. The Long Lac and Ogoki diversions in Canada channel water into Lake Superior that would otherwise flow into Hudson Bay. Also: Lake St. Clair The smallest lake in the Great Lakes system, Lake St. Clair is not considered to be one of the "Great" lakes, however, it is part of the Lake Erie basin. Also: St. Lawrence River States and Provinces Illinois Indiana Michigan Minnesota New York Ohio Ontario Pennsylvania Québec Wisconsin