Which rivers flow into the Great Lakes?

Water flows from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan into Lake Huron; then through the Detroit River into Lake Erie; then through Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario; and then through the Saint Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. Water is also drained from the Chicago River to the south.

Which river is the primary outlet for the Great Lakes?

St. Lawrence River
The system's primary outlet is St. Lawrence River; a portion is diverted from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River. The lakes are bordered by the Canadian province of Ontario and by eight American states: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Where did the Great Lakes originally drain?

Both originally drained southwest, out of the Maumee-Wabash-Ohio and Des Plaines-Illinois rivers, respectively, into the Mississippi River. About 9,000 years ago, the early phase of Lake Superior, called Lake Duluth, drained southwest out of St.

Are the Great Lakes a river or a watershed?

The Great Lakes watershed or Great Lakes basin is defined by watersheds that drain into the Great Lakes. A watershed is an area of land where all the water that falls on it drains into the same outlet – for example, a stream, a river or a lake.

How much water is diverted from the Great Lakes?

Although the total volume in the lakes is enormous, on average less than 1 percent of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed annually by precipitation, surface water runoff, and inflow from groundwater sources. A diversion is any transfer of water across watershed boundaries through a man-made pipeline or channel.

Why should we drain the Great Lakes?

This insightful program reveals the seabeds for the first time in thousands of years and explores unseen geological treasures and lost human history hidden since the last ice age. Combining cutting-edge science with vivid CGI Draining The Great Lakes, you can see what really lies deep beneath the waves.

As the water continues to move downward, streams and rivers can join larger lakes and eventually the ocean. The Great Lakes Guide combines the watersheds of the Five Great Lakes, the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River to bring you the entire Great Lakes Basin.