Lake Superior the largest of the Great Lakes. It also has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world. It contains almost 3,000 cubic miles of water. With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Lake Superior is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes (1,332 feet).
The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long. The drainage basin, totaling 49,300 square miles, encompasses parts of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. Most of the Superior basin is sparsely populated, and heavily forested, with very little agriculture because of a cool climate and poor soils.
Lake Superior could contain all the other Great Lakes plus three more Lake Eries. Water flows into the lake from many small rivers and streams. The Long Lac and Ogoki diversions in Canada channel water into Lake Superior that would otherwise flow into Hudson Bay.
The lake's level is controlled by gates on the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie, and may not exceed 602 ft above sea level. Each year a small percentage of the lake's water flows out through the St. Mary's River, and it takes almost two centuries for the water to be completely replaced.
The Lake Superior drainage basin is rich in natural resources and scenic beauty.
It is economically dependent on its natural resources, which include metals, minerals, forests and recreation/tourism opportunities such as national lakeshores and national/state/provincial parks.
It is particularly known for its clear, cold water and agate beaches.
A circle tour guides highway travelers around the lakeshore.
Many shipwrecks in Lake Superior are now protected in bottomland preserves and accessible to recreational divers.
In 1985, scientists using a submersible vessel descended for the first time to the deepest part (-1,332 ft.) of Lake Superior.
