Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border.

The Great Lakes are:

• Lake Superior
• Lake Michigan
• [Lake Huron]?
• Lake Erie
• Lake Ontario

All freshwater lakes, four of these lakes straddle the US-Canada border, with the exception of Lake Michigan, which is entirely within the United States. The [Saint Lawrence River]? which straddles the same international border for portions of its course, is a primary outlet of these interconnected lakes, leading past the [Gaspe Peninsula]? to the northern Atlantic Ocean.

• Geologic Pre-History

The Great Lakes were formed at the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago when the Laurentinian Ice Shelf receded, leaving behind a rush of meltwater.

What else?

• Pre-European History of the Lakes
• European History of the Lakes
• Modern Economy of the Lakes
• Great Lakes Ecology

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For a brief period beginning in March, 1998, Lake Champlain was also officially recognized as a Great Lake. This anomaly, the result of a Senate-bill line-item, generated a small uproar, and was rectified shortly thereafter.

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This term can also be used to identify of a number of lakes throughout the world, and the region around them, in East Africa. More specifically, [Lake Victoria]?, [Lake Tanganyika]?, [Nyasa Lake]?, [Lake Albert]? and a number of smaller lakes.