Starting with an easy one, the obviously named Lake Superior (from French 'Lac Superieur') is generally regarded as the largest fresh water lake by surface area in not only the United States and Canada, but also in the world. Glacial meltwaters remaining in the depressions of the mid-continental rift created this massive inland body of water when the glaciers receded some 10,000 years ago.
The lake was known as 'gitchi-gami' meaning 'be a great sea,' by the indigenous Ojibwe people who populated the area all around the western Great Lakes in the 17th and 18th centuries.
2. Known for Lake Shore Drive and lots of wind
Answer: Lake Michigan
Known as "the windy city" for the seemingly constant blow off Lake Michigan, Chicago and its scenic Lake Shore Drive dominate the southern curve of this Great lake. By surface area, Lake Michigan is the third in size of the Great Lakes, although it is deeper and more voluminous than its neighbor to the east, Lake Huron. By political and popular consensus, there are five Great Lakes, but geologically, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are technically one lake.
The two parts are connected at the north end of Lake Michigan by the Straits of Mackinac, which is still five miles wide at its narrowest point. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to lie entirely within the United States.
The other four have theoretical boundaries drawn through their middles, dividing them between the US and Canada.
The northern and southern shores of the lake are very different. Along Michigan's upper peninsula, the shoreline is heavily forested and sparsely populated. Along the southwestern and southern shore, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois contribute the majority of the twelve million people who live on Lake Michigan.
3. Average depth is only nine feet
Answer: Lake Okeechobee
Florida's Lake Okeechobee, as big as half of Rhode Island, is the largest fresh water lake entirely within any one of the lower 48 states. Standing on its shore, it looks like an ocean, yet its extreme shallowness has led to major environmental problems recently, including a 2016 giant algae bloom which effected both coasts of Florida where lake runoff has been diverted.
The whole mess was put in motion when a giant dike was built along its southern shore in the 1920s to enable sugar plantations to flourish. Before human activity changed it, the lake naturally diffused south into the Everglades, creating one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. For a discussion see "Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee" Dec. 8, 2016 by Stern, Parker, Wilking - on weather.com
4. On New York/Vermont border
Answer: Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain sits at the top of New England on the border between Vermont and New York. A small portion along its northern shore is part of Quebec, Canada. At 120 miles long, 12 miles wide at its widest, and 400 feet maximum depth, it is the eighth largest naturally occurring freshwater lake in the 48 continental states. Three road bridges and one railway line cross over the lake, connecting Vermont and New York.
The lake offers excellent recreational opportunities including some of the best bass fishing in the country.
Another claim to fame is a 480 million year old fossil reef in the lake, supposedly one of the oldest in the world. Locals claim a strange looking prehistoric sea creature still lives there, calling to mind another more famous legendary creature in Scotland.
5. Man made
Answer: Lake Mead
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It provides water to 20 million people in Nevada, Arizona, and California, most notably to the sprawling Las Vegas area just 25 miles away. The lake was made by damming the Colorado river, a project which took five years to complete.
The imposing concrete arch-gravity structure was dedicated as Boulder Dam in 1935 by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was renamed Hoover Dam in 1947 to honor former president Herbert Hoover. A total of 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete was poured to create Hoover Dam. 96 people died during construction of the dam and the companion hydro-electric power generating facility which harnesses the river's force.
6. Ski resort
Answer: Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in the United States, the second deepest after Crater Lake in Oregon, and the biggest by volume other than the five Great Lakes. It sits on the border between California and Nevada, with a surface elevation of 1,897 meters, more than a mile above sea level. For natural beauty and variety of skiing options, most experts agree it is unsurpassed. All manner of water sports are also available year round. 63 tributaries run into the lake but only one, the Truckee River, runs out (at Tahoe City on the west side). Because of its high elevation and constant renewal from an average of 125 inches of snow per year at lake level, Lake Tahoe's water is rated 99.994% pure, among the cleanest in the world.
The surrounding mountains receive up to 600 inches of snow per year!
7. Borders four states from Michigan to New York
Answer: Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area while also being the shallowest of the five. From west to east, it gives Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York coastline on a major body of water, entry into the network of the five Great Lakes, and access to the Atlantic Ocean.
The obvious advantages of water based commerce led to the building of the Erie Canal, an early engineering marvel which predated the railroads. Built between 1817 and 1825, the canal stretched across northern New York and connected Lake Erie with the Hudson River at Albany. Bordering these four northern industrial states, however, has led to ongoing pollution problems for this lake, including algae and invasive species such as the zebra mussel.
8. "Go fish"? Not here!
Answer: Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake in northern Utah is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River, roughly 75 miles long by 35 miles wide. It is a terminal lake, meaning it has no outlets. Rivers and streams are constantly depositing small amounts of salt in the lake, which remain when the water evaporates. Thus the lake maintains a very high salinity and an environment hostile to fish. Brine flies and small brine shrimp can survive the extreme conditions and they feed on lake algae.
The tiny flies, which fortunately do not bite or land on humans, form a ring around the entire lake within a few feet of the shoreline. Scientists estimate their population at over 100 billion. Fly swatter, anyone?
9. Contains water from Niagara Falls
Answer: Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is the eastern most of the Great Lakes and the smallest in terms of surface area (although it is deeper and holds more water than Lake Erie). It lies between New York state and the Canadian province of Ontario, at the base of Niagara Falls. For many years the falls were a giant obstacle preventing navigation into the other Great Lakes, until completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. Toronto, a major international city and the capital of Ontario, sits on the northwest corner of Lake Ontario.
10. Caldera
Answer: Crater Lake
Crater lake, the gem of central Oregon, sits in a caldera, which is a depression in the cone of a volcano caused by gravity and the weight of debris after an eruption. This one was caused when Mount Mazama blew its top then collapsed inward 7,700 years ago. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in America, plunging to 1,943 feet or 592 meters. No streams flow into or out of the lake; rainwater, evaporation, and seepage continually turn over the contents, accounting for the amazingly clear blue color of the lake water.
The area is a national park, the most visited in Oregon despite its rather remote location and the fact that it's blanketed in snow more than half the year.
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