Showing posts with label Lake Erie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Erie. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY'RE CALLED "GREAT" LAKES? Part four, Lake Erie



Throughout most of the 17th century the Iroquois tribes settled along Lakes Erie and Ontario prevented exploration of the the lower lakes. These fierce warriors meant torture and death to any Frenchmen who tried to pass through. Instead explorers used the rivers out of Lake Ontario and portaged into Lake Huron sending new explorations North to Lake Superior. It was not until 1669 that Louis Jolliet explored Lake Erie.

There are thirty one islands in Lake Erie from the island village of Put in Bay Ohio, known as a "party" island for young people, to the Canadian Pelee Island where there is a "fragile and unique ecosystem" with plants rarely found in Canada, and two endangered snakes, to Kelley's Island which offers beaches and hiking and biking and glacial grooves left in the limestone. There are also reports of a Lake Erie Monster seen in its waters. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_erie

At an average depth of only 62 feet, winds over Lake Erie quickly kick up strong waves and storm surges, leaving the Lake's floor littered with shipwrecks, that are perfectly preserved in the salt free, cold water.



Erie carries the waters of Superior, Michigan, and Huron eastward across three states, and 241 miles later all that water suddenly plunges 173 feet into Lake Ontario, at a place called Niagara Falls. The most powerful waterfalls in North America, Niagara shrouds itself in a perpetual mist and rainbows. Expect a bad hair day if you ever visit them. 

At number six on Travel and Leisure's list of the World's Most-Visited Tourist Attractions, Niagara Falls' annual 22.5 million visitors beats out the Grand Canyon, all the Disney World Parks and even the Eiffel Tower in Paris France for tourists. 

Niagara is a spectacular sight and even the photos below cannot do it justice, so check out this link to a video of the Maid of the Mist––boats that carry tourists to the foot of the Falls. 
Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist  Thanks fiftytwopence.



Photo by Pluma of Niagara Falls from the Canadian side––Horsehoe Falls  


Vivian





Friday, September 28, 2012

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY'RE CALLED "GREAT" LAKES? Part Three, Lake Huron




Welcome to Michigan's "Sunrise Side"––The shores of Lake Huron. Much quieter and just a teensy bit nicer than the heavily traveled shores of Lake Michigan––Lake Huron is where you go for true relaxation. Walk its sandy beaches for miles, enjoy a bonfire on the beach, and it begins to feel as if you have its entire 3,827 miles of coastline to yourself.

The residents like it this way, so I'd appreciate you not telling anyone about this gem of a Great Lake, please. : )

The early French explorers called this body of water La Mer Douce or Fresh Water Sea, though it was called "Lac des Hurons" on their early maps. It is 183 miles from the Michigan shore to the Canadian side. Huron carries the waters of Superior and Michigan, from the Straits of Mackinac, 206 miles south, where it suddenly narrows into the St. Clair River at Port Huron Michigan (a great place for ship watching). From there it flows into beautiful Lake St. Clair, then into the Detroit River and on into Lake Erie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Huron


Lake Huron

I could mention where this is. But then everyone would know 

Under the Blue Water Bridge to Canada, ships enter the St. Clair River at Port Huron

Lake St. Clair boat traffic for Detroit's 300th Anniversary July 2001

Sharing the channel on Lake St. Clair


Vivian : )