Great Lakes Basin

Map of the Great Lakes Basin.

The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large drainage basin that feeds into the lakes. It is generally considered to also include a small area around and beyond Wolfe Island, Ontario, at the east end of Lake Ontario, which does not drain into the Great lakes, but into the Saint Lawrence River.

Demographics

The basin is home to 33 million people.^[1] The basin hosts eight of Canada's 20 largest cities, including Toronto, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines, Niagara, Oshawa, Windsor, and Barrie. The United States cities of Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, and Rochester, are located on shores of the Great Lakes.

Sub-basins

Each individual lake forms a sub-basin, such as the Lake Erie Basin, and each sub-basin consists of multiple watersheds, such as Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Watershed. The overall Great Lakes Basin is monitored by the binational Great Lakes Commission.

St. Lawrence Basin

Quebec, a portion of whose lands drain into the St. Lawrence Basin, is a signatory to the Great Lakes Charter of 1985, the 2001 Charter Annex, and the Agreements of 2005. ^[2] While not a part of the Great Lakes Basin, Quebec's position along the Saint Lawrence Seaway makes it a partner in water resource management with Ontario and the eight US states mentioned above.

Nuclear power plants

There are 38 nuclear power plants in the Great Lakes Basin. The influence of these power plants and the waste they produce must be combined to ascertain the impact on the Great Lakes Basin.^[3]

Notes

External links

Great Lakes of North America
Main lakes	Erie Huron Michigan Ontario Superior
Secondary lakes	Nipigon Nipissing St. Clair Simcoe Winnebago
Bays and Waterways	Detroit River Erie Canal French River Georgian Bay Great Lakes Waterway Green Bay Lake George Lake Kagawong Lake Manitou Lake Nicolet Manitou Passage Lake Mindemoya Munuscong Lake Niagara River Nipigon River North Channel Potagannissing Bay St. Clair River Saint Lawrence River Saint Lawrence Seaway St. Marys River Sault Ste. Marie Canal Soo Locks Straits of Mackinac Trent–Severn Waterway Welland Canal
Islands	Detroit River Michigan (state) (in Lake Huron, part of Isle Royale National Park) Ontario
Historic geology	Lake Agassiz Lake Chicago Lake Maumee Mackinac Falls Midcontinent Rift System Niagara Escarpment Wisconsin glaciation
Government	Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers Great Lakes Commission Great Lakes Fishery Commission International Joint Commission
Related topics	Basin Bays of the Great Lakes Great Lakes region Great Lake ships Lake-effect snow Lake Michigan–Huron Marine protected areas Megalopolis Native American tribes (US) Quebec City–Windsor Corridor Settlements Great Lakes museum and historic ships Lake freighter Tall ships Great Lakes Areas of Concern Great Lakes Treaties

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