Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes in North America. It is located on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake's name comes from early French explorers who named it after the Huron (Wyandot) people who lived in the area. In terms of water flow, Lake Huron makes up the eastern part of Lake Michigan–Huron, which has the same water level as Lake Michigan. These two lakes are connected by the five-mile-wide (8.0 km), 20-fathom-deep (120 ft; 37 m) Straits of Mackinac. Together, Lake Michigan–Huron is the largest freshwater lake by area in the world. The Huronian glaciation was named based on evidence found in the Lake Huron region. The northern parts of the lake include the North Channel and Georgian Bay. Saginaw Bay is located in the southwest corner of the lake. The main way water enters Lake Huron is through the St. Marys River from Lake Superior, and the main way water leaves is through the St. Clair River toward Lake Erie. Lake Huron has a large drainage basin that covers parts of Michigan and Ontario. Water moves through Lake Huron faster than the other Great Lakes, with a retention time of only 22 years.
Geography
Lake Huron is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by surface area, covering 23,000 square miles (59,570 km²). It is the third-largest freshwater lake on Earth, or the fourth-largest if the Caspian Sea is considered a lake. However, by volume, Lake Huron is the third-largest Great Lake, with Lake Michigan and Lake Superior having greater volumes. At the low water level, the lake holds 850 cubic miles (3,500 km³) of water and has a shoreline length of 3,827 miles (6,159 km), including islands.
The surface of Lake Huron is 577 feet (176 m) above sea level. Its average depth is 195 feet (59 m), and the deepest point, measured by sonar, is 750 feet (229 m). The lake is 206 miles (332 km) long and 183 miles (295 km) wide at its widest point. A large bay called Georgian Bay extends northeast into Ontario, Canada. Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest lake island, separates Georgian Bay and the North Channel from the main part of Lake Huron. Saginaw Bay is a smaller bay that extends southwest into Michigan.
Cities with more than 10,000 people on Lake Huron include Sarnia (the largest city on the lake), Saugeen Shores in Canada, and Bay City, Port Huron, and Alpena in the United States. Major cities on Georgian Bay include Owen Sound, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Midland, Penetanguishene, Port Severn, and Parry Sound.
Lake Huron’s water levels change monthly, with the highest levels typically in October and November. The normal high-water mark is 2.00 feet (0.61 m) above the reference level (577.5 ft or 176.0 m). In 1986, the lake reached its highest level at 5.92 feet (1.80 m) above the reference level. In 2020, the high-water records were broken for several consecutive months.
Lake levels are lowest in winter, with the normal low-water mark 1.00 foot (30 cm) below the reference level (577.5 ft or 176.0 m). In 1964, the lake reached its lowest level at 1.38 feet (42 cm) below the reference level. From February 1964 to January 1965, monthly low-water records were set, with levels ranging from 1.38 to 0.71 feet (42–22 cm) below the reference level. The lowest recorded level was reached in January 2013.
Geology
Lake Huron has the longest shoreline among the Great Lakes when all 30,000 of its islands are counted. It is connected to Lake Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac, a waterway that is 5 miles wide (8.0 km) and 20 fathoms deep (120 feet; 37 meters). These two lakes are part of the same body of water, sometimes referred to as Lake Michigan-Huron or described as two "lobes of the same lake." Together, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan cover an area of 45,300 square miles (117,000 square kilometers), making them technically the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Superior, which is 21 feet higher in elevation, flows into the St. Marys River, which connects to Lake Huron. From there, water moves south through the St. Clair River near Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario. The Great Lakes Waterway continues to Lake St. Clair, then through the Detroit River and the city of Detroit, Michigan, into Lake Erie. Water flows next through Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Like the other Great Lakes, Lake Huron was formed by melting ice as glaciers from the last ice age moved away. Before this, the area was a low-lying depression where the now-buried Laurentian and Huronian Rivers once flowed. The lake bed had many tributaries that connected to these ancient rivers, and some of these old river channels are still visible on maps showing underwater features.
Beneath Lake Huron lies the Alpena-Amberley Ridge, an ancient landform that stretches from Alpena, Michigan, southwest to Point Clark, Ontario.
History
About 9,000 years ago, when the water level in Lake Huron was about 100 meters (330 feet) lower than it is today, the Alpena-Amberley Ridge became visible above water. This land bridge allowed large groups of caribou to move across it. Since 2008, archaeologists have found at least 60 stone structures along the now-submerged ridge. These structures are believed to have been used by Paleo-Indians as hunting blinds. In 2013, an underwater discovery confirmed that a trade network brought obsidian from Oregon to this area nearly 10,000 years ago for making tools.
Before Europeans arrived, evidence from Lake Huron shows that some Eastern Woodlands Native American societies had developed significantly. An archaeological site near the lake contained more than 100 large buildings that housed between 4,000 and 6,000 people. The French, who were the first Europeans to visit the region, called Lake Huron "La Mer Douce," which means "the fresh-water sea" in French. In 1656, a map by French cartographer Nicolas Sanson labeled the lake "Karegnondi," a Wyandot word that has been translated as "Freshwater Sea," "Lake of the Hurons," or "lake." Most early European maps referred to the lake as "Lac des Hurons," meaning "Lake of the Huron."
By the 1860s, many European settlements along Lake Huron were becoming official cities, including Sarnia, the largest city on the lake. On October 26, 2010, the Karegnondi Water Authority was created to build and manage a pipeline from Lake Huron to Flint, Michigan.
Shipwrecks
Over 1,000 shipwrecks have been found in Lake Huron. Of these, 185 are in Saginaw Bay, and 116 are in the 448-square-mile (1,160 km) Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, which was created in 2000. Georgian Bay has 212 sunken ships.
Le Griffon is believed to be the first European ship to sail the Great Lakes and also the first ship to be lost there. It was built in 1679 on the eastern shore of Lake Erie near Buffalo, New York. Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, sailed Le Griffon across Lake Erie, up the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River into Lake Huron. After passing the Straits of Mackinac, La Salle reached Washington Island, near the tip of the Door Peninsula on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. La Salle loaded Le Griffon with furs and sent it back to the area near modern-day Buffalo in late November 1679. The ship was never seen again. Two possible wrecks have been identified as Le Griffon, but neither has been confirmed as the real one. After leaving, Le Griffon was blown by a strong storm and ran aground. People on Manitoulin Island say the wreck in Mississagi Strait, at the western tip of the island, is Le Griffon. Others near Tobermory say the wreck on Russell Island, 150 miles (240 km) farther east in Georgian Bay, is Le Griffon.
- View of Lake Huron from East Tawas State Park at the head of Saginaw Bay
- Harrisville Beach on Lake Huron
- View of rocky shore of Lake Huron from east of Port Dolomite, Michigan, in the upper peninsula
On November 9, 1913, the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 in Lake Huron sank 10 ships and damaged more than 20 others. The storm lasted 16 hours and killed 235 sailors.
Matoa, a propeller freighter weighing 2,311 gross register tons, traveled between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, just after midnight. On November 9, just after 6 a.m., Senator moved upstream. Less than an hour later, Manola, a propeller freighter weighing 2,325 gross register tons built in Cleveland in 1890, passed through. Captain Frederick W. Light of Manola reported that both the Canadian and American weather stations had storm flags flying. At 7:00 a.m., Regina left Sarnia into the northwest gale. Storm warnings had been up for four hours. Manola passed Regina near Port Sanilac, 22 statute miles (19 nmi; 35 km) up the lake. Captain Light decided that if conditions worsened, he would seek shelter at Harbor Beach, Michigan, another 30 statute miles (26 nmi; 48 km) up the lake. There, he could hide behind a breakwater. Before reaching Harbor Beach, the wind shifted to the northeast, and the lake level rose. At noon, he reached Harbor Beach and ran for shelter.
The waves were so strong that Manola ran aground as it entered the harbor. With help from a tugboat, Manola tied to the breakwall with eight lines. Around 3:00 p.m., Manola was secured, and the crew prepared to drop anchor. As they worked, the cables snapped due to wind pressure. To avoid being pushed aground, the crew kept the ship’s front facing the wind and ran the engines. Despite this, the ship drifted 800 feet (240 m) before stopping. Waves damaged several windows, and the crew saw parts of the concrete breakwall peeling off as waves hit it. Meanwhile, 50 miles farther up the lake, Matoa and Captain Hugh McLeod had to ride out the storm without shelter. Matoa was later found stranded on the Port Austin reef after the winds stopped.
It was noon on Monday before the winds eased, and not until 11:00 p.m. that night did Captain Light decide it was safe to continue. Although Manola survived the storm, it was renamed Mapledawn in 1920. On November 24, 1924, it became stranded on Christian Island in Georgian Bay and was declared a total loss. Salvagers recovered about 75,000 bushels of barley.
Ecology
Lake Huron has a lake retention time of 22 years. Like all of the Great Lakes, the ecology of Lake Huron has changed greatly over the past 100 years. The lake originally supported a native deepwater fish community led by lake trout, which ate several species of ciscos, as well as sculpins and other native fishes. Several invasive species, including sea lamprey, alewife, and rainbow smelt, became common in the lake by the 1930s. The main native top predator, lake trout, was nearly gone from the lake by 1950 due to overfishing and the effects of sea lamprey. Several species of ciscos were also no longer found in the lake by the 1960s; the only remaining native ciscoes are bloater and cisco (lake herring). Non-native Pacific salmon have been added to the lake since the 1960s, but their numbers have decreased after a major change in the food web in 2003. Lake trout have also been added to the lake for many years to help restore the species, and today they are mostly self-sustaining, especially in the northern part of the lake.
Lake Huron is home to many types of algae and seaweed, including curly-leafed pondweed, a tall, kelp-like seaweed with small curly leaves that can grow up to 5 meters (16 feet); spiked water-milfoil, a tall, kelp-like seaweed with pine-like leaves that often grows in bushes and reaches heights of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet); water silk, a smooth, silk-like algae that often grows on rocks; and muskgrass, a seaweed with a skinny stem and flower-like leaves. Spiked water-milfoil and curly-leafed pondweed are both invasive species that can take resources away from native algae species.
Lake Huron has recently faced challenges from new invasive species, including zebra and quagga mussels, the spiny water flea, and round gobies. By 2006, the demersal fish community of the lake was in decline, and major changes were observed in the zooplankton community. Chinook salmon catches have also dropped in recent years, and lake whitefish have become less common and are in poor health. These recent changes may be linked to the new invasive species. However, some native species have benefited from these changes, mainly because the invasive alewife has almost completely disappeared from the lake. These native species include lake trout and walleye. The walleye population in the Saginaw Bay area of Lake Huron reached recovery goals in 2009.