Lake Superior

2024/9/13

Everything Everywhere Daily

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Lake Superior's formation began billions of years ago with the Mid-Continent Rift System, a massive crack in the Earth's crust. Glaciers during the last Ice Age carved out its basin, and the lake's current form resulted from glacial meltwater and isostatic rebound. Lake Superior now holds about 10% of the world's fresh surface water.

Lake Superior sits in the Canadian Shield, an area with ancient bedrock dating back 1.1 billion years.
The Mid-Continent Rift System, a massive crack in Earth's crust, played a key role in forming the lake's basin.
Glaciers carved out the lake's basin during the last Ice Age.
Isostatic rebound, the land rising after glaciers retreat, continues to shape the lake.

Shownotes Transcript

Located between Canada and the United States is one of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world, Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, and it is the first of the lakes in terms of water flow.

Despite being the largest of the Great Lakes, it has the fewest number of people living on its shores, yet it is one of the most important economically.

Learn more about Lake Superior, the big lake they call Gitche Gumee, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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