Water Resources - Lake Erie

Lake Erie Facts

Surface Area

Lake Erie is the fourth largest of the Great Lakes and the eleventh largest freshwater lake in the world based on surface area. Lake Erie covers 9,910 square miles. It is 241 miles long and 57 miles wide. Lake Erie's shoreline measures 871 miles long.

Volume

Another way to measure lake size is volume. Lake Erie has the smallest volume of freshwater of the Great Lakes. Lake Huron contains about 116 cubic miles of water.

Depth

Lake Erie has a maximum depth of 210 feet, with an average depth of 62 feet.

Total Basin Drainage

Ninety-five percent of the inflow into Lake Erie comes from the Detroit River via the northern Great Lakes including Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron. The outlet for Lake Erie is the Niagara River and Welland Canal. The retention/replacement time for water contained in the Lake Erie is 2.6 years, the shortest of the Great Lakes.

Point of Interest

Lake Erie is the warmest of the Great Lakes.