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Geography Lake Huron () is the second-largest of the Great Lakes, with a surface area of 23,010 square miles (59,596 km²)—nearly the size of West Virginia, making it the third largest fresh water lake on earth (4th largest lake if you include the saline Caspian Sea). It contains a volume of 850 cubic miles (3,540 km³), and a shoreline length of 3,827 miles (6,157 km). The surface of Lake Huron is 577 feet (176 m) above sea level. The lake's average depth is 195 feet (59 m), while the maximum depth is 750 feet (229 m). It has a length of 206 miles (332 km) and a breadth of 183 miles (245 km). It contains 850 cubic miles (3,538 cubic km) of water. Major cities on Lake Huron include: Saginaw, Michigan; Bay City, Michigan; Alpena, Michigan; Cheboygan, Michigan; St. Ignace, Michigan; Port Huron, Michigan; Goderich, Ontario; and Sarnia, Ontario. 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 lake island. Geology Lake Huron is separated from Lake Michigan, which lies at the same level, and connects by the narrow Straits of Mackinac, making them geologically and hydrologically the same body of water (sometimes called Lake Michigan-Huron). 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. History Since its French discoverers knew nothing as yet of the other lakes, they called it La Mer Douce, the sweet or fresh-water sea. A Sanson map in 1656 refers to the lake as Karegnondi. Lake Huron was generally labeled "Lac des Hurons" (Lake of the Huron Indians) on most early maps. Ecology Lake Huron has a lake retention time of 22 years. Major industries that drain into Lake Huron include: iron and steel mills, automobile manufacturing, heavy machinery, paper mills, metalworking, and shipbuilding. See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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