Learn more about the Great Lakes and why it’s so important we protect them.
Did you know they are the largest body of freshwater on earth and hold 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water? They are so big they make their own weather!
Glaciers started carving out the Lakes 15,000 years ago and the land under the lakes is still slowly rising after being pushed down by the huge weight of the ice sheets.
The Great Lakes refill at the glacial pace of just one per cent per year
It takes water in Lake Superior 300 years to travel out to sea. Who would have thought that some of the water plunging over Niagara Falls has hung around for so long?
The Great Lakes are teeming with life. From tiny shrimp to big beautiful lake trout, there are 3,500 kinds of plants and animals that live in and around the lakes.
On top of that, there are 40 million people – including 98 per cent of Ontarians.
Even if you don’t swim or fish in the Great Lakes, you are more connected than you might think:
- 70 per cent of Ontarians get water for their homes directly from the lakes
- 80 per cent of the power generated in Ontario is in some way dependent on the lakes
- 95 per cent of Ontario’s locally produced food comes from the Great Lakes Basin
To learn more about what Ontario is doing to protect the Great Lakes check out http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/subject/great_lakes/index.htm
