Water science news, explainers, and statistics covering freshwater, hydrology, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, and Earth’s connected water systems.
Crater Lake can hide a white disk more than 100 feet below the surface, while several other American lakes keep it visible through tens of feet of water. Those observations place them among the clearest lakes in the United States, although clarity changes with the season and cannot be reduced to a permanent national scoreboard.…
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The Great Lakes hold the world’s largest collection of freshwater islands, but there is no single count accepted for every purpose. The U.S. Geological Survey describes about 30,000 islands, while the Great Lakes Islands Alliance uses 32,000. A current Canadian overview reports more than 35,000 across the Great Lakes. A separate government map assigns more…
Lake Michigan supports native cold-water fish such as lake trout and lake whitefish. Yellow perch, walleye and smallmouth bass occupy many nearshore habitats. The open lake also holds introduced salmon and trout. Beneath those large sport fish, alewife and other small prey transfer energy through the food web. The lake contains far more fish than…
Lake Huron reaches a maximum depth of 750 feet, or 229 meters, according to the standard Great Lakes measurements published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Its average depth is much lower at 195 feet, or 59 meters. The two figures describe different features: maximum depth marks the deepest recorded point, while average depth spreads…
