Which of the five Great Lakes is richest in nutrients?

Lake Erie is the warmest, shallowest, and southernmost of the Great Lakes. It is also the fourth smallest. And, its feeders provide fertilizers that feed plankton, which supports the lake's entire food chain.

According to Dr. Charles E. Herdendorf, perhaps the most important way Erie is different from the other four lakes is because of its warmer waters and shallow areas. "It’s the most nutrient rich, but that's important because it produces the most living organisms in terms of sport fish, commercial fish and habitat," he explains. Dr. Herendorf is a professor, environmentalist, geologists, and diver.

Because it is so shallow, Erie is the first of the five lakes to freeze in the winter and often becomes extremely warm in summer. In 1999, two Ohio nuclear power plants were nearly shut down when summer water levels fell and water temperatures rose close to 85 degrees F, the point at which it could not be used to cool the plants’ reactors.

In Erie’s western basin—the shallowest part of the lake, at 25 to 30 ft. deep—a slight breeze can cause waves to form quickly. When waves cannot go through their entire cycle and break, erosion and storms happen. This area is called, “the thunderstorm capital of Canada.”

When cold air passes over Erie’s not-yet-frozen, still-warm water, “lake-effect” snow can happen. As a result, Buffalo, New York is the 11th snowiest US place in America and Erie, Pennsylvania is the 13th.