Though
Lake Huron may be the largest where surface area is concerned, it is in fact the third largest of the
Great Lakes by volume (850mi
3). The lake is approximately 206 miles long (332km), with a
breadth of 183 miles (245km). There are still some people who would suggest that
Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are one, because they are joined by the
Straits of Mackinac, rendering them inseperable. It is not too entirely deep,
on average, 195 feet, but does reach 750 feet in several areas.
This lake was the first to be discovered by
European explorers, and is unique in that the largest bay located in the lakes system is connected (though, scarcely in places) to its main body.
Georgian Bay, nearly dubbed a Great Lake itself, originally, is on the other side of
Manitoulin Island, and makes up a fair portion of Lake Huron's sizeable
shoreline (3,827mi/6,157km in total), along with other islands, ~30,000 of them, and the main shore. Incidentally, and to throw in a bit of name history, the lake was originally called
La Mer Douce (the sweet, or "fresh-water" sea), mostly because explorers were not aware of its connection in the Great Lakes sytem (or more pointedly, the existence of the
Great Lakes system at all.)
Although Lake Huron receives flow from both
Lake Superior and
Lake Michigan, it has less pollutant build up as the water moves more quickly. There is a relatively low population around Lake Huron, and thusly urban waste is lessened greatly, though the area does rely heavily on its
natural resources, of which there are plenty (thick forests and mineral resources, among other things).
Lake Huron's drainage basin is nearly double that of its surface area (23,000mi
2, and covers portions of
Michigan and
Ontario. The farmland in the basin is excellent, and populations are therefore higher than in the area immediate surrounding area.
thanks to www.great-lakes.net for providing me with a good way to kill a lot of time. mm. research.