Lake Huron
Map of Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes
Location	North America
Group	Great Lakes
Coordinates	44°48′N 82°24′W / 44.8°N 82.4°W / 44.8; -82.4Coordinates: 44°48′N 82°24′W / 44.8°N 82.4°W / 44.8; -82.4
Lake type	Glacial
Primary inflows	Straits of Mackinac, St. Marys River
Primary outflows	St. Clair River
Catchment area	51,700 sq mi (134,100 km2)[1]
Basin countries	United States  Canada
Max. length	206 mi (332 km)[2]
Max. width	183 mi (295 km)[2]
Surface area	23,000 sq mi (59,600 km2)[1]
Average depth	195 ft (59 m)[1]
Max. depth	750 ft (229 m)[1]
Water volume	850 cu mi (3,543 km3)[2]
Residence time	22 years
Shore length1	3,827 mi (6,157 km)[2]
Surface elevation	577 ft (176 m)[2]
Islands	Manitoulin
Sections/sub-basins	Georgian Bay, North Channel
Settlements	Bay City, Alpena, Cheboygan, St. Ignace, Port Huron in Michigan; Goderich, Sarnia in Ontario
References	[3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Huron (French: Lac Huron) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan–Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the Huron people inhabiting the region.

Geography[link]

Lake Huron is the second-largest of the Great Lakes, with a surface area of 23,000 square miles (59,600 km²) making it the third-largest fresh-water lake on Earth (and the fourth-largest lake, if the Caspian Sea is counted as a lake).^[1] When measured at the Low Water Datum, the lake contains a volume of 850 cubic miles (3,540 km³) and a shoreline length (including islands) of 3,827 miles (6,157 km).^[1]

The surface of Lake Huron is 577 feet (176 m) above sea level.^[2] The lake's average depth is 195 feet (59 m), while the maximum depth is 750 feet (229 m).^[2] It has a length of 206 miles (332 km) and a greatest breadth of 183 miles (295 km).^[2]

Important cities on Lake Huron include: Goderich, Sarnia, Bay City, Alpena, Rogers City, Cheboygan, St. Ignace, and Port Huron.^{[citation needed]}

A large bay that protrudes northeast from Lake Huron into Ontario, Canada is called Georgian Bay. A notable feature of the lake is Manitoulin Island, which separates the North Channel and Georgian Bay from Lake Huron's main body of water. It is the world's largest freshwater island.^[4] A smaller bay that protrudes southwest from Lake Huron into the state of Michigan, U.S.A. is called Saginaw Bay.

Water Levels[link]

Historic High Water The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels in October and November. The normal high water mark is 2.00 feet (0.61 m) above datum (577.5 ft or 176.0 m). In the summer of 1986, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their highest level at 5.92 feet (1.80 m) above datum.^[5] The high water records began in February 1986 and lasted through the year, ending with January 1987. Water levels ranged from 3.67 to 5.92 feet (1.12–1.80 m) above Chart Datum.^[5]

Historic Low Water Lake levels tend to be the lowest in winter. The normal low water mark is 1.00 foot (30 cm) below datum (577.5 ft or 176.0 m). In the winter of 1964, Lakes Michigan and Huron reached their lowest level at 1.38 feet (42 cm) below datum.^[5] As with the high water records, monthly low water records were set each month from February 1964 through January 1965. During this twelve month period water levels ranged from 1.38 to 0.71 foot (42–22 cm) below Chart Datum.^[5]

Great Lakes Circle Tour[link]

The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.^[6]

Geology[link]

Lake Huron has the largest shore line length of any of the Great Lakes, counting its 30,000 islands.^[7]

Lake Huron is separated from Lake Michigan, which lies at the same level, by the narrow Straits of Mackinac, making them geologically and hydrologically the same body of water (sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron and sometimes described as two 'lobes of the same lake').^[7] Aggregated, Lake Huron-Michigan, at 45,300 square miles (117,000 km²), "is technically the world's largest freshwater lake."^[7]

Lake Superior is slightly higher than both. It drains into the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie which then flows southward into Lake Huron. The water then flows south to the St. Clair River, at Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.

The Great Lakes Waterway continues thence to Lake St. Clair; the Detroit River and Detroit, Michigan; into Lake Erie and thence – via Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River – to the Atlantic Ocean.

Like the other Great Lakes, it was formed by melting ice as the continental glaciers retreated toward the end of the last ice age. Before this, Lake Huron was a low-lying depression through which flowed the now-buried Laurentian and Huronian Rivers; the lake bed was criss-crossed by a large network of tributaries to these ancient waterways, with many of the old channels still evident on bathymetric maps.

History[link]

The French, the first European visitors to the region, often referred to Lake Huron as La Mer Douce, "the fresh-water sea". In 1656, a map by French cartographer Nicolas Sanson, refers to the lake as Karegnondi, a Wendat word which has been variously translated as "Freshwater Sea", "Lake of the Hurons", or simply "lake".^[8][9] The lake was generally labeled "Lac des Hurons" (Lake of the Huron) on most early European maps.^[9]

Storm of 1913[link]

Ipperwash Beach, Lake Huron

On November 9, 1913, a great storm in Lake Huron sank ten ships and more than twenty were driven ashore. The storm, which raged for 16 hours, killed 235 seamen.^[10]

The Matoa had passed between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario just after midnight. On the 9th, just after six in the morning, the Senator pushed upstream. Less than an hour later, the Manola passed through. Captain Frederick W. Light of the Manola reported that both the Canadian and the American weather stations had storm flag signals flying from their weather towers.^[11] Following behind at 7:00 a.m. that Sunday, the Regina steamed out of Sarnia into the northwest gale. The warnings now had been up for four hours.^[12] The Manola passed the Regina off Port Sanilac, 22 statute miles (19 nmi; 35 km) up the lake. Captain Light determined that if it continued to deteriorate, he would seek shelter at Harbor Beach, Michigan, another 30 statute miles (26 nmi; 48 km) up the lake. There, he could seek shelter behind the breakwater. Before reaching Harbor Beach, the winds turned to the northeast and the lake began to rise. It would be noon before he reached Harbor Beach and ran for shelter. The waves were so violent that the Manola touched bottom entering the harbor. With help from a tug, the Manola tied up to the break wall with eight lines. It was about 3:00 p.m. when the Manola was secured and the crew prepared to drop anchor. As they worked, the cables began to snap from wind pressure against the hull. To keep from being pushed aground, they kept their bow into the wind with the engines running half to full in turns, yet the ship still drifted 800 feet (240 m) before its movement was arrested.^[13] Waves breaking over the ship damaged several windows and the crew reported seeing portions of the concrete break wall peeling off as the waves struck it.^[14]

Meanwhile, fifty miles further up the lake, the Matoa, and Captain Hugh McLeod had to ride out the storm without a safe harbor.^[15] The Matoa would be found stranded on the Port Austin reef when the winds subsided.^[16] It was noon on Monday before the winds let up and not until 11:00 p.m. that night before Capt. Light determined it to be safe to continue his journey.^[17]

Modern history[link]

On October 26, 2010,^[18] the Karegnondi Water Authority was formed to build and manage a pipeline from the Lake to Flint.^[19]

Shipwrecks[link]

More than a thousand wrecks have been recorded in Lake Huron. These purportedly include the first European vessel to sail the Great Lakes, Le Griffon built in 1679 on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, near Buffalo, New York, Sieur de la Salle navigated across Lake Erie, up the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River out into Lake Huron. Passing the Straits of Mackinac, La Salle and the Griffon made landfall on Washington Island, off the tip of the Door Peninsula on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. Here, La Salle filled the Griffon with pelts and in late November 1679 sent the Griffon back to the site of modern day Buffalo, never to be seen again.

Two wrecks have been identified as the Griffon, although neither has gained final verification as the actual wreck. Blown by a fierce storm after leaving, the Griffon ran aground before the storm. The people of Manitoulin Island say that the wreck in Mississagi Straits at the western tip of the island is that of the Griffon. Meanwhile, others near Tobermory say that the wreck on Russell Island, 150 miles further east in Georgian Bay is that of the Griffin.^[20]

Saginaw Bay[link]

185 of 1,000+ wrecks^[21] are within the waters of Saginaw Bay.

Matoa, A propeller freighter, 2,311 gross tons, built 1890, Cleveland, wrecked, 1913, Port Austin Reef^[22]

Georgian Bay, North Channel[link]

Georgian Bay, which is the largest bay on Lake Huron, contains 212 of the 1,000 sunk vessels in the lake.^[23]

Manola, a propeller freighter of 2,325 gross tons. Built in 1890, by the Globe Shipping Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Operated by the Minnesota Steamship Company (Cleveland) from 1890–1901, by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company from 1901–1918. On January 25, 1918, the Manola was sold to the U.S. Shipping Board. It was sold again in 1920 to the Canada Steamship Lines, Ltd and renamed the Mapledawn. It became stranded on November 20, 1924 on Christian Island^[24] in Georgian Bay. It was headed for Port McNichol, Ontario. It was declared a total loss after two weeks. Salvagers were able to recover approximately 75,000 bushels of barley for delivery to Midland, Ontario.^[25]

• 

  View of Lake Huron from East Tawas State Park at the head of Saginaw Bay.

• 

  Harrisville Beach on Lake Huron

• 

  View of rocky shore of Lake Huron from east of Port Dolomite, Michigan in the upper peninsula.

Ecology[link]

Lake Huron has a lake retention time of 22 years.

Like all of the Great Lakes, the ecology of Lake Huron has undergone drastic changes in the last century. The lake originally supported a native deepwater fish community dominated by lake trout, which fed on a number of deepwater ciscos as well as sculpins and other native fishes. Several invasive species, including sea lamprey, alewife and rainbow smelt, became abundant in the lake by the 1930s. The major native top predator, lake trout, were virtually extirpated from the lake by 1950 due to a combination of overfishing and the effects of sea lamprey. Several species of deepwater ciscos were also extirpated from the lake by the 1960s; the only remaining native deepwater cisco is the bloater. Nonnative Pacific salmon have been stocked in the lake since the 1960s, and lake trout have also been stocked in an attempt to rehabilitate the species, although little natural reproduction of stocked trout has been observed.

Lake Huron has suffered recently due the introduction of a variety of new invasive species, including zebra and quagga mussels, the spiny water flea, and round gobies. The deepwater demersal fish community of the lake was in a state of collapse by 2006,^[26] and a number of drastic changes have been observed in the zooplankton community of the lake.^[27] Chinook salmon catches have also been greatly reduced in recent years, and lake whitefish have become less abundant and are in poor condition. These recent changes may be attributable to the new exotic species.

Lake Huron viewed from Arch Rock at Mackinac Island

See also[link]

• Drummond Island
• Georgian Bay
• Hurricane Huron
• Les Cheneaux Islands
• Mackinac Island
• Michigan lighthouses
• Saginaw Bay
• Sauble Beach
• Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm and List of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm
• Thunder Bay
• Wasaga Beach

Great Lakes in general[link]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

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External links[link]

	Lake Superior	Canada  Ontario	Michigan
	Upper Michigan Lake Michigan		Ontario
		Lake Huron    East
	Michigan Lower Michigan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lake Huron

• EPA's Great Lakes Atlas
• Fish Species of Lake Huron
• Great Lakes Coast Watch
• Lake Huron Binational Partnership Action Plan
• Lake Huron Data
• Lake Huron GIS
• Michigan DNR map of Lake Huron
• Bathymetry of Lake Huron
• In the Depths of Lake Huron, Secrets of an Ancient Sea

Lighthouses

• Interactive map of lighthouses, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron
• Interactive map of lighthouses in North and East Lake Huron
• Interactive map of lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron

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