Great Lakes Fun Facts

6 Crazy Things
You Didn't Know About
The Great Lakes

Provided by Shuttlebutt

1	They contain 6,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water. That's nearly 20% of the world's freshwater supply and enough to cover the contiguous US in almost 10' of water (yes, that is 10 feet of water).
2	They are actually inland seas. Complete with rolling waves, strong currents, great depths, and tidal shifts twice a day...at a difference of less than five centimeters!
3	40 million people and 3,500 species rely on them. Relied on for drinking water or habitat -- including an estimated 100 million lake trout in Lake Superior alone.
4	They're ONLY 10,000 years old. For comparison, the Rocky Mountains were formed between 55 - 60 million years ago!
5	Home of the world's largest freshwater coastal dune system. 100s of thousands of acres of sand dunes line the Lakes including 450 ft tall bluffs at Sleeping Bear Dunes (Lake Michigan).
6	They're shrouded in mystery. The Lakes have claimed 6,000+ ships and more than 30,000 lives, previously had a pirate problem (Lake Michigan), and according to some, is still home to a serpent monster named Bessie (Lake Erie).