Lake Erie, on the border between the United States and Canada, is the farthest south of the five Great Lakes of North America (see Great Lakes). It is bordered by the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Lake Erie is 241 miles (388 kilometers) long and ranges from 38 to 57 miles (61 to 92 kilometers) in width. With an area of 9,900 square miles (25,700 square kilometers), it is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes. Only Lake Ontario is smaller. Lake Erie lies 569 feet (173 meters) above sea level. A shallow lake, it has an average depth of only 62 feet (19 meters) and is 210 feet (64 meters) deep at its deepest point. The lake is quickly stirred by storms and often has violent waves. French explorers called Lake Erie Lac du Chat (Lake of the Cat) because the Iroquois Indians called the tribe of Indians living near the lake Erieehronons. This Iroquois word probably meant the people of the panther.
Lake Erie lies between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. Lake Erie receives water from Lake Huron through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River. Water from Lake Erie flows into Lake Ontario by way of the Niagara River. Lake Ontario lies 326 feet (99 meters) below Lake Erie. As a result, about halfway along its course, the Niagara River plunges over two steep waterfalls—the famous Niagara Falls. The falls make the river unnavigable. But the artificially created Welland Ship Canal, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the river, provides passage between Lakes Erie and Ontario (see Welland Ship Canal). The New York State Barge Canal System joins Lake Erie with the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean (see New York State Canal System).
The main ports on Lake Erie are located at Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Ashtabula, and Conneaut, all in Ohio; Erie, Pa., and Buffalo, N.Y. Iron ore and taconite from Minnesota and limestone from Michigan are shipped on Lake Erie to Ohio ports for use in steel mills in Ohio and in Pittsburgh, Pa. Toledo is a busy coal-shipping port. Buffalo is the most important grain-shipping port on the lake.
Since the mid-1800's, industries, cities, and farms have polluted Lake Erie by dumping waste into it. By the late 1960's, the lake was so heavily polluted that a large number of fish had died, and the water had become unsafe for swimming. In 1972, the Canadian and United States governments agreed to clean up the lake. Since then, the quality of Lake Erie's water has improved greatly, the supply of fish has increased, and the danger of swimming has decreased.
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