With an average depth approaching 500 feet , Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes. The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long.
Is there life at the bottom of Lake Superior?
Scientists making the first submarine expedition in Lake Superior have had their first look at the bottom at its deepest — more than 1,300 feet — and found it teeming with life, though only of three species .
Is Lake Superior the deepest lake in the US?
Lake Superior
Lake Superior holds 2,900 cubic miles of water and consists of 10% of the Earth’s freshwater. It covers 37,700 square miles or 82,103 square kilometers and has a maximum depth of 1,333 feet or 406 meters, making it the deepest and largest among the five Great Lakes .
Are there sharks in Lake Superior?
Though extremely rare, sharks have been spotted in fresh water areas before . As we know, Lake Superior is very cold especially this time of year.
What’s the biggest fish in Lake Superior?
Lake sturgeon are the largest fish in Lake Superior. They among the oldest fish in the lake too.
Will a body float in Lake Superior?
Normally, bacteria decaying a sunken body will bloat it with gas, causing it to float to the surface after a few days. But Lake Superior’s water is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth, and bodies tend to sink and never resurface .
How cold is it at the bottom of Lake Superior?
How cold is Lake Superior at the bottom? While the temperature of the surface of Lake Superior varies seasonally, the temperature below 110 fathoms (660 ft; 200 m) is an almost constant 39 °F (4 °C) .
Can you drink Lake Superior water?
Do you drink the lake water? Lake Superior is the cleanest of the Great Lakes, and many people drink the water regularly (even in their homes). On trip, the decision is yours. For your safety we bring a high quality water filter or boil our water.
How many bodies are in Lake Superior?
Lake Superior Bodies
There an 350 shipwrecks in Lake Superior and an estimated 10,000 people have died in the icy waters, but as legend says, Lake Superior never gives up her dead. Underwater bacteria feed on human remains and create gas which causes bodies to float back to the surface.
Does Lake Superior completely freeze over?
Lake Superior freezes at least in part every year and less frequently in its entirety . The last year that it froze completely was in February 1994. It almost froze completely in March 2003 and this photograph was taken by the GOES satellite on March 7, 2003.
Why is Lake Superior not a sea?
The Great Lakes could be considered a failed ocean. They are in a place where rifting started to create a new ocean, but it never got connected to the ocean system (and flooded), and that was still the case when the rifting eventually stopped. Those rifts were then further (much later) “excavated” by glaciers.
Can you swim in Lake Superior?
Lake Superior’s beaches are open and safe for swimming over 90% of the time , and the water is extremely clear, with an average underwater visibility of 8.3 m (27 ft).
Are there alligators in Lake Superior?
Many people don’t realize Lake Superior is infested with fearsome man-eating alligators .
What predators are in Lake Superior?
- Moose. Moose are the giants of the boreal forest. ...
- Black Bear. Black Bears can be found as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico. ...
- Woodland Caribou. Reindeer and caribou are the same animal and are a member of the deer family. ...
- White-Tailed Deer. ...
- Wolf. ...
- Beaver. ...
- Lynx. ...
- Western Painted Turtle.
Are there predators in Lake Superior?
Are there any predators in Lake Superior? The siscowet lake trout is only found in Lake Superior and is the main predator in the deepwater region of the lake . The siscowet lake trout feeds near the bottom of the lake during the day and ventures up into the water column at night in search of food.
Are there catfish in Lake Superior?
Background Information: Channel catfish live in all Great Lakes but Superior, inland lakes and medium to large rivers . They are most common in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. In rivers, young channel catfish generally are found in shallow riffles.
What is the average temperature of Lake Superior in the summer?
Lake Superior’s long-term average surface water temperature is around 46 degrees now, but the lake is averaging around 54 degrees . That is still cold, but it’s significantly warmer than average. Surface water temperatures on Lake Superior. Lake Michigan was much warmer than average until the cool weather in mid-June.
Can you eat fish from Lake Superior?
Lake Superior fish consumption advisories
One meal per month of all lake trout, walleye and smelt . Men over age 15 and women over 50: Unrestricted number of meals of coho salmon, lake herring and rainbow trout. One meal per week of brown trout, chinook salmon, whitefish and walleye.
Why does Lake Superior stay so cold?
Overall, the Great Lakes reached a 91 percent ice cover that year, which is the most the lakes have frozen since 1979. Freezing of the lakes is monitored because it affects hydropower generation, commercial shipping, the fishing industry and more , according to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
Can Lake Superior grow bacteria?
The water in Lake Superior is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth , and bodies tend to sink and never resurface.
Did the Edmund Fitzgerald go down?
On November 10, 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior . All 29 crew members died. At the time, it was the worst shipping disaster on the Great Lakes in 11 years.
What is the deepest lake in United States?
At 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The depths were first explored thoroughly in 1886 by a party from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Is Lake Superior a saltwater lake?
1. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. Spanning nearly 32,000 square miles, Lake Superior is not only the largest freshwater lake in the world (by surface area) but it is also one of the largest lakes in the world, second only to the Caspian Sea.
What Great Lake is the shallowest?
Lake Erie is by far the shallowest of the lakes, with an average depth of just 19 meters (62 ft). That means on average, Lake Superior is about eight times deeper.
Why is Lake Superior red?
The reddish color comes from sunlight reflecting and refracting off the sandy lake bottom in shallow water . The lake is just one of the colorful features at the 73,000-acre park, which sits along Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
What is the dirtiest Great Lake?
Of all of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie had become predominantly polluted by the 1960s, largely due to the heavy industrial presence along its shores. With 11.6 million people living in its basin, and with big cities and sprawling farmland dominating its watershed, Lake Erie is severely impacted by human activities.
Why is Lake Superior so clean?
11. Over 300 streams and rivers empty into Lake Superior with the largest source being the Nipigon River in Ontario. 12. The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 metres or 27 feet , making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes.
