The Great

Lakes
What are The Great Lakes?

 The Great Lakes are a series of

large interconnected freshwater
lakes in the upper mid-east region
of North America that connect to
the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint
Lawrence River. The Great Lakes
are, from west to
east:  Superior, Michigan, Huron, 
 Erie and Ontario. They are
situated on the border between
Canada and The U.S.
How did they come to be?

 It has been estimated that the foundational geology that created the
conditions shaping the present day upper Great Lakes was laid from 1.1 to
1.2 billion years ago, when two previously fused tectonic plates split apart.
Simply put, the Great Lakes were created by glaciers. About 18,000 years
ago, the Laurentide glacier covered most of Canada and the Northern U.S. As
the glacier moved, it flattened mountains and carved valleys. It's estimated
that the glacier was nearly 2.5 miles thick.
 About 14,000 years ago, things began to warm and the Laurentide glacier
started to melt. As it melted, water filled the huge holes carved by the
glacier. This process took about 7,000 years.
The importance of
the Great Lakes
 The Great Lakes are the largest group
of freshwater lakes on Earth by total
area, containing 21% of the world's
surface fresh water by volume. The
lakes have been a major source for
transportation, migration, trade, and
fishing, serving as a habitat to many
aquatic species in a region with
much biodiversity.
 The population of The Great Lakes
Basin is more than 30 million people –
roughly 10% of the U.S. population
and 30% of the Canadian
population lives here. Additionally,
nearly a quarter of Canadian
agricultural production depends on
these lakes.
 Pollution of The
Great Lakes
 One interesting fact about the Great
Lakes is that only about one percent of
the water in the lakes leaves the basin
each year. Because the Great Lakes
are essentially a closed system and
because of the intense industrial
activity in the area, the pollutants that
are dumped into the Great Lakes
remain there, and become
concentrated over time. And there are
a substantial number of pollutants that
are entering the Great Lakes in large
quantities. A 2006 study revealed that
20 evaluated cities produced more
than three trillion litres of waste in
one year. That is equal to 1.2 million
Olympic swimming pools of waste.
 If it were a country, The Great Lakes Region would be the 3rd
largest in the world by GDP.

Fun Facts The Empire State Building would sink beneath the surface of
Lake Superior.

about the Lake Erie is allegedly home to Bessie, a ‘sea monster’-like

creature that has been spotted on multiple occasions for
lakes decades. The Cleveland baseball team - the Lake Erie Monsters -
were named after this legend.

There is enough water in Lake Superior to submerge all of North

and South America in 1 foot of water.
The End :)

 Bibliography: 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes
 https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/the-great-lakes
 https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/facts-and-figures-about-great-lakes
 https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/great-lakes-fun-facts

 A presentation made by Nacu Bogdan, Cirligeanu Ana and Sfichi Cristiana.