The largest city on the lake is Cleveland, anchoring the third largest U.S. metro area in the Great Lakes region, after Greater Chicago and Metro Detroit. [36] In 2007, the wreck of the steamship named after "Mad" Anthony Wayne was found near Vermilion, Ohio, in 50 feet (15m) of water; the vessel sank in 1850 after its boilers exploded, and 38 people died. Many industrial and municipal sources have since then been greatly reduced. The cheapest way to get from Erie to Canada costs only $73, and the quickest way takes just 3 hours. Steel Winds, a former steel mill site in Buffalo, has been developed as an urban wind farm housing 14 turbines capable of generating up to 35 megawatts of electricity. [91] Biologist Masteller of Pennsylvania State University declared the bugs to be a "nice nuisance" since they signified the lake's return to health after forty years of absence. He neared the Canada shore a little below Long Point he was accordingly driven towards Buffalo Night was drawing on and it became apparent that he could not, with this current, get away from the water before dark, and after nightfall it would not be safe to come down. Commercial landings are dominated by yellow perch and walleye, with substantial quantities of rainbow smelt and white bass also taken. [96], Lake Erie infamously became very polluted in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of the quantity of heavy industry situated in cities on its shores, with reports of bacteria-laden beaches and fish contaminated by industrial waste. If you take a left on the Niagara River, this will be your connection into Lake Erie. But more recent federal highway logs consider I-395 to be nearly 2 miles long. [70][71] The notion that bird and bat migration may be hurt by the wind turbines has been used to argue against the wind turbines as well. [139] In Port Dover, Ontario, swimmers do high-dives at the annual "Polar Bear Swim" on the beach. [88], The Lake Erie water snake, a subspecies of the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), lives in the vicinity of Ohio's Put-in-Bay Harbor and had been placed on the threatened species list. Suppose we travel along this path, starting at A A at time t= 0 t = 0 and ending at B B at time t=1 t = 1. Distances between ports [117] Cuts of 30 to 45 percent for certain fish were made in 2007. This distance across Lake Erie from Cleveland, Ohio to the Canadian shoreline is approximately 54 miles. [20], In 1669, Frenchman Louis Jolliet was the first documented European to sight Lake Erie, although there is speculation that tienne Brl may have come across it in 1615. 5,429-miles, 140-travel days, averaging 40-miles a day. [91] Sometimes the clouds of mayflies have caused power outages[92] and roads to become slippery with squashed insects. In short, Lake Erie is in danger of dying by suffocation. [33] For decades after those wars, the land around eastern Lake Erie was claimed and utilized by the Iroquois as a hunting ground. Some chose to sit and wait for authorities, while others headed east in search of an ice bridge Others managed to get to land on their own by riding their all-terrain vehicles about five miles east to where ice hadn't broken away. The tribal name "erie" is a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan, meaning "long tail". [115][144] There were reports in 1990 of people seeing a "large creature moving in the water about 1,000 feet (300m) from their boat" described as black in color, about 35 feet (11m) long, with a snakelike head, and moving as fast as a boat. Predictions of the lake being over-fished in 1895 were premature, since the fishery has survived commercial and sport fishing, pollution in the middle of the 20th century, invasive species and other ailments, but state and provincial governments, as well as national governments, have played a greater role as time went by. The ones in maroon indicate the US only, Great Lakes route. [48] In 1913, a memorial to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was built on Put-in-Bay island featuring a Doric column. These trails became primitive roads which were eventually paved. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [56] Federal officials acted as well: the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act of 1972,[98][103] and the United States and Canada established water pollution limits in an international water quality agreement. It just doesn't get any safer, easier, or better than this! [74] Another report cites Ohio's Maumee River as the main source of polluted runoff of phosphorus from industries, municipalities, tributaries and agriculture, and in 2008, satellite images showed the algal bloom heading toward Pelee Island. The lake was named after the Erie Indians who once inhabited the shores. With a mean surface height of 570 feet (170 metres) above sea level, Erie has the smallest mean depth (62 feet) of the Great Lakes, and its deepest point is 210 feet. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- You can't see across Lake Erie to Canada. Greyhound carries around 18 million passengers a year who travel 5.4 billion miles (8.6 billion km) a year on their fleet of around 1700 vehicles. [28][74] The Great Lakes Institute of the University of Windsor has experts who study issues such as lake sediment pollution and the flow of contaminants such as phosphorus. Want to know all the fabulous places you can go in your own boat? British authorities in Canada were nervous about possible expansion by American settlers across Lake Erie, so Colonel Thomas Talbot developed the Talbot Trail in 1809 as a way to stimulate settlement to the area; Talbot recruited settlers from Ireland and Scotland, and there are numerous places named after him in southern Ontario, such as Port Talbot, the Talbot River, and Talbotville. Attempts failed to stock coho salmon, and its numbers are dwindling. The shortest driving distance is 274 miles. The ancient sand dunes are visible in the Oak Openings Region in Northwest Ohio. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. [56] A report in Time magazine in 1969 described the lake as a "gigantic cesspool" since only three of 62 beaches were rated "completely safe for swimming".[56]. Rising air cools and water vapor condenses into cloud droplets the efficiency of snow production increases when the wind pushes the clouds over land. [32] In Ontario's Sand Hill Park, east of Port Burwell, there is a 450-foot (140m) high dune which people climb for picturesque views of the lake. as long as you begin your journey in the safe weather season for the geographic area from where ever you. Since the 1970s environmental regulation has led to a great increase in water quality and the return of economically important fish species such as walleye and other biological life. In 1998, this was the shortest signed interstate at 0.72 miles. This conflict is complex, dating from the 1960s and earlier, with the result in the United States that, in 2011, commercial fishing was mostly eliminated from Great Lakes states. [82] Blue-green algae, or Cyanobacteria blooms,[83] were problematic in August 2019. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [66] But venturing on Lake Erie ice can be dangerous. . [49] Occasionally there have been mass die-offs of certain species of fish, sometimes for reasons unknown, such as many numbers of rainbow smelt in May 2010. [89] By 2010, the water snake population was over 12,000 snakes. The British, allied with the Iroquois, developed trade along Lake Erie in the late 17th century. [32] During the 19th century, ships could enter the Buffalo River and travel the Erie Canal eastward to Albany then south to New York City along the Hudson River. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Entry into Canada: Canadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. The navigator must make their own adjustments for weather or prevailing currents. [14] Since there are fewer wetlands to filter nutrients, as well as greater channelization of waterways, nutrients in water can cause algal blooms to sprout as well as "low-oxygen dead zones" in a complex interaction of natural forces. In 2010, Canadian police arrested persons crossing the border illegally from the United States to Canada, near the Ontario town of Amherstburg.[149]. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Business boomed; in 1901, the Carnegie Company proposed building a new harbor near Erie, Pennsylvania, in Elk Creek to accommodate shipments from its tube-plant site nearby. [24] The lake's surface area is 9,910 square miles (25,667km2). Lake Erie is home to one of the world's largest freshwater commercial fisheries. There, the sandy dry lake bed soil was not sufficient to support large trees with the exception of a few species of oaks, forming a rare oak savanna. [76], Environmentalists and biologists study lake conditions via installations such as the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island. [120] As a result, a fishing boat that crosses the international border triggers the security concerns of border crossings, and fishermen are advised to carry their passport. He swam the most common route, 24.3 miles from a peninsula known as Long Point, Ontario, to Freeport Beach near Erie, Pa. [59] Since winds blow primarily west to east along the main axis of the lake, lake-effect snowstorms are more pronounced on the eastern parts of the lake. What are the qualities of an accurate map? Both the US & Canadian routes are exceptional: Beginning at Waterford, the USA route through the full length of the historic Erie Canal, this route also takes you along the southern shores (US side), Each travel day and destination is numbered. [86] The largest Lake Erie blooms to date occurred in 2015, exceeding the severity index at 10.5 and in 2011 at a 10, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). [121] There was a report that charter boat fishing increased substantially on the American side, from 46 to 638 charter boats in operation in Ohio alone, during a period from 1975 to 1985 as pollution levels declined and after populations of walleye increased substantially in the lake. An international water rights policy overseen by the Great Lakes Commission, the compact aims to prevent diversion of water from Great Lakes to distant states, as well as to set standards for use and conservation. There were incidents of the oily surfaces of tributary rivers emptying into Lake Erie catching fire: in 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River erupted in flames,[98] chronicled in a Time magazine article which lamented a tendency to use rivers flowing through major cities as "convenient, free sewers";[56] the Detroit River caught fire on another occasion. [129] Other wrecks include the fish tub Neal H. Dow (1910), the "steamer-cum-barge" Elderado (1880),[129] W. R. Hanna,[36] Dundee which sank north of Cleveland in 1900,[36] F. H. Prince,[36] and The Craftsman. [39] Another concern had been that pollution in the lake, as well as toxins found inside fish, were working against commercial fishing interests. This baby is the connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, and the location of, The Illinois river's close proximity to the Chicago River and the man-made Chicago Ship Canal is why we have a Great Loop and not a, This leg of your journey is only 219 miles to Cairo at the junction of the Ohio River and the Lower Mississippi. Publishers: (1) Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail National Scenic Byway (2) Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (3) Ohio Sea Grant; Editors: Art Weber, Melinda Huntley of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. The Lake Erie and Northern Railway (reporting mark LE&N) was an interurban electric railway which operated in the Grand River Valley in Ontario, Canada. "I was afraid to inquire where (Canada) was, lest it would betray such a degree of ignorance as to excite suspicion at once." Port Dover has a beach, a pier and a lighthouse. [146], In 2007, there was a protest against Ontario's energy policy which allows the shipping of coal in the lake; Greenpeace activists climbed a ladder on a freighter and "locked themselves to the conveyor belt device that helps to unload the ship's cargo"; three activists were arrested and the ship was delayed for more than four hours, and anti-coal messages were painted on the ship.[147]. In Summer - We are in the North headed west: You will have several options when you reach the Erie Canal. Lake Erie (/ri/ "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. [133], There are numerous public parks around the lake. Apple orchards are abundant in northeast Ohio to western New York. [128][129] Ships headed eastward can take the Welland Canal[146] and a series of eight locks descending 326 feet (99m) to Lake Ontario which takes about 12 hours. [122] It is possible to fish off piers in winter for burbot; the burbot make a midwinter spawning run and is reportedly one of Erie's glacial relics. [111] In 1992, there were accounts of fishermen regularly catching walleye weighing up to 12 pounds (5.4kg). Erie is also the smallest lake by volume, with 480 cubic kilometers of water. The combination of overfishing and the eutrophication of the lake by pollution caused the population to collapse, and in the mid-1980s, the blue walleye was declared extinct. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). The cheapest way to get from Cincinnati to Lake Erie costs only $57, and the quickest way takes just 9 hours. Among the diving community, they are considered world class, offering opportunities to visit an underwater museum that most people will never see. The shortest route between Detroit and Cleveland is 167.60 mi (269.72 km) according to the route planner. [97] In the 1970s, patches of the lake were declared dead because of industrial waste as well as sewage from runoffs; as The New York Times reporter Denny Lee wrote in 2004, "The lake, after all, is where the Rust Belt meets the water."[19]. There was direct competition between commercial fishermen and sport fishermen (including charter boats and sales of fishing licenses) throughout the lake's history, with both sides seeking government assistance from either Washington or Ottawa, and trying to make their case to the public through newspaper reporting. [75] In 2008 there were concerns that the "newest invader swarming in the Great Lakes", which was the bloody-red shrimp, might harm fish populations and promote algae blooms. serving over 3800 destinations across North America, Mexico and Canada. [47] But other groups have entered the political process as well, including environmentalists, lakefront property owners, industry owners and workers seeking cost-effective solutions for sewage, ferry boat operators, even corporations making electric-generating wind turbines. [49] Possible causes for declines in bird populations are farming practices, loss of habitats, soil depletion and erosion, and toxic chemicals. [32], During the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry captured an entire British fleet in 1813[36] near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, despite having inferior numbers. [74], Other invasive species in Lake Erie include: spiny water fleas, fishhook water fleas, sea lamprey, and white perch. Directly north of Cleveland is Erieau, a cool little village on a Peninsula. [130], In 1998, the wreckage of Adventure became the first shipwreck registered as an "underwater archaeological site"; when it was discovered that Adventure's propeller had been removed and given to a junkyard. In the 1970s and 1980s, as pollution in the lake declined, counts of walleyes which were caught grew from 112,000 in 1975 to 4.1million in 1985, with estimates of the numbers of walleyes in the lake at around 33 million in the basin, with many of 8 pounds (3.6kg) or more. [34] There was a legend of an Indigenous woman named Huldah, who, despairing over her lost British lover, hurled herself from a high rock from Pelee Island. One account suggests that climate change is causing greater evaporation of lake water, leading to warmer temperatures as well as ice in winter which is less thick or nonexistent, fueling concerns that "Erie appears to be shrinking" and is the most likely candidate among the five Great Lakes to "turn into a festering mud puddle. This means that driving laterally across the United States could take anywhere from 36 hours to 56 hours! The lake is responsible for microclimates that are important to agriculture. Completed in 1825, it connected Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east, a distance of about 360 miles (580 km). A veteran of numerous. It was deeper than the current Lake Erie, and its shoreline existed about eight miles (13km) inland from the modern one. ; Report that One Is to be Built at Elk Creek, Penn", "Avon Lake alcohol history turns into fundraising opportunity at Bicentennial Beer Festival coming up on September 22", "The Blade | Toledo's breaking news, sports, and entertainment watchdog", "America's Sewage System and the Price of Optimism", "In Angler's Freezer Since '62, Fish May Refute 'Extinction', "Many ingredients go into lake-effect snow", Answers: 10 snowiest 'cities' aren't all in New York, "First snow arrives off Lake Erie, spares Buffalo", "Dear Tom, Does much ice remain on northern Lake ", "Freezing of Lake Erie celebrated by those tired of lake-effect snow".