Great Lakes Day Trivia Quiz

Answer: No

Lakes Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior make up the Great Lakes system. They are all connected by a series of rivers such as the Niagara River, and smaller lakes such as Lake St. Clair. The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system in the world, with a total surface area of approximately 245,013 square km (152,244 sq miles). Lake Winnipeg is a large lake in the province of Manitoba that is not part of the Great Lakes.

Answer: 20%

Scientists have estimated that there is a total of 100,036 cubic kilometres (62,159 cubic miles) of freshwater on Earth. The Great Lakes contain about 22,508 cubic kilometres (13,986 cubic miles). That is approximately 20% of the world's freshwater, or 22.5% to be more exact. That's a lot of water!

Answer: Superior Ontario

As its name suggests, Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes. It has a surface area of 82,100 square km (31,699 square miles). It is also the first lake in the system when one considers the flow of the water from west to east. Lake Ontario is the last lake in the system when considering the flow from west to east.

Its waters spill into the St. Lawrence River, then head to the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Ontario has a surface area of 18,960 square km (7,320 square miles).

Answer: False

The Canadian Museum of History recognizes that Étienne Brűlé, who was sent out ahead of French explorer Samuel de Champlain, was the first European to see any of the Great Lakes. It is believed that Brűlé discovered Lake Huron first, in about 1615. He then discovered and explored Lake Ontario.

Answer: More than 30 million

The Great Lakes touch Ontario in Canada and Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. When an official count was taken in 2017, it was discovered that over 30 million people lived next to the Great Lakes in these states and Ontario.

This was about 10% of the people who lived in the US, and about 30% of Canadians at that time.

Answer: The Edmund Fitzgerald

The Great Lakes have been important shipping routes since the 17th century. Over the years, it is estimated that over 6,000 wrecks have occurred, with the loss of over 30,000 mariners. On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in a storm in Lake Superior.

The iron ore freighter sunk and the entire crew of 29 was lost. It was the last wreck of the 20th century. It was also the largest ship ever to sink in the Great Lakes at that time. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about the wreck entitled "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Answer: Lake Huron

Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes by surface area, next to Lake Superior, with a total area of 59,700 sq km (23,000 sq miles). It also has many islands. The Great Lakes have approximately 35,000 islands. Of those, 30,000 are in Lake Huron.

When all of these shorelines add up, the total is 6,157 km (3,827 miles) for that Great Lake. Lake Superior has a shoreline of 4,385 km (2,726 miles), Lake Michigan has a shoreline of about 2,475 km (1,600 miles), Lake Erie has a shoreline of 1,402 km (871 miles), and Lake Ontario has a shoreline of 1,146 km (712 miles).

Answer: Yes

In the latter part of the 20th century, Canada and the US worked together to develop the "Circle Tour", a series of designated roads and highways that travel around all of the lakes. The roads are as close to the Lakes as possible. When it was first set up, the Circle Tour was well-signed and maintained. Unfortunately over the years, some of the maintenance has fallen by the wayside.

It still is possible to take the drive, though. One can drive around individual lakes, or around the entire Great Lakes basin depending on the time available.

It does take time. It takes over 14 hours (without stopping) just to drive the Lake Michigan portion of the trip! Details about this road trip can be found at the loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com website.

Answer: Manitoulin Island

There are many islands in the Great Lakes, but most are either too small or rocky to be habitable, or they support one or two summer cabins for those wanting an escape from the city. Manitoulin Island in the Ontario, Canada area of Lake Huron is much larger than these.

At 2,766 square km (1,068 sq miles), it is quite large. In fact, it is the largest freshwater island in the world. It has over 100 lakes on it, some of which have their own islands. There are a number of towns on Manitoulin Island that support over 13,000 people, not including summer cottagers (as of the 2016 census).

Answer: Lake Erie

Measured at low water, Lake Erie is by far the shallowest of all of the Great Lakes. Its average depth is 19 metres (62 feet), with a maximum depth of 64 metres (210 feet). Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of 147 metres (483 feet).

Its maximum depth is 406 metres (1,332 feet). Lake Ontario is the next deepest, with an average depth of 86 metres (283 feet), and a maximum depth of 244 metres (802 feet). Lake Michigan comes next with an average depth of 85 metres (279 feet), and a maximum depth of 282 metres (925 feet). Finally, Lake Huron has an average depth of 59 metres (195 feet), and a maximum depth of 229 metres (760 feet).