Editing Great Lakes (section)

==Economy==
[[File: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway map 1959.png|upright=2.4|center|thumb|Map of the Great Lakes, [[Great Lakes Waterway]], [[St. Lawrence Seaway]] depicting the entire length.]]
[[File:Overview of the Great Lakes from orbit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Photograph of, closest to farthest, Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron (North is to the right) plus the [[Finger Lakes]] of upstate New York, near Lake Ontario, June 14, 2012, taken aboard the [[International Space Station]], with lake names added]]

===Shipping===
Except when the water is frozen during winter, more than 100 lake freighters operate continuously on the Great Lakes,<ref name="clui">{{Cite web |url = http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-3 |title = Chapter 4: The Watery Boundary |website = United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border |publisher = The Center for Land Use Interpretation |date = Winter 2015 }}</ref> which remain a major [[water transport]] corridor for bulk goods. The [[Great Lakes Waterway]] connects all the lakes; the shorter [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] connects the lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Some lake freighters are too large to use the Seaway and operate only on the Waterway and lakes. In 2002, 162&nbsp;million net [[ton]]s of dry bulk cargo were moved on the Lakes. This was, in order of volume: iron ore, grain and [[potash]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.greatlakesports.org/industry-overview/cargoes/ |title = Great Lake Seaway Cargoes – American Great Lakes Ports Association |website = www.greatlakesports.org |access-date = May 18, 2017 |archive-date = May 9, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210509142250/https://www.greatlakesports.org/industry-overview/cargoes/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> The iron ore and much of the stone and coal are used in the steel industry. There is also some shipping of liquid and containerized cargo. Major ports on the Great Lakes include [[Twin Ports|Duluth-Superior]], Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Twin Harbors, [[Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority|Hamilton]] and [[Thunder Bay Port Authority|Thunder Bay]].

===Recreation===
[[File:Marina Fest.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Escanaba, Michigan|Escanaba]]'s Ludington Park in Michigan]]
Tourism and recreation are major industries on the Great Lakes.<ref name="GroverKrantzberg2012">{{cite book |last1 = Grover |first1 = Velma I. |last2 = Krantzberg |first2 = Gail |title = Great Lakes: Lessons in Participatory Governance |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P-HMjx9tgoEC&pg=PA334 |year = 2012 |publisher = CRC Press |isbn = 978-1-57808-769-3 |page = 334 }}</ref> A few small cruise ships operate on the Great Lakes including some [[sailing|sailing ships]]. Sport fishing, commercial fishing, and Native American fishing represent a U.S.$4&nbsp;billion a year industry with [[salmon]], [[Coregonus|whitefish]], [[smelt (fish)|smelt]], lake trout, [[Bass (fish)|bass]] and [[walleye]] being major catches. Many other [[List of water sports|water sports]] are practiced on the lakes such as [[yachting]], [[sea kayak]]ing, [[Recreational diving|diving]], [[kitesurfing]], [[powerboat]]ing, and [[lake surfing]]. The [[Great Lakes Circle Tour]] is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/ |title = Great Lakes Circle Tour |publisher = Great-lakes.net |date = July 5, 2005 |access-date = February 19, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204133/http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/ |archive-date = July 25, 2010 }}</ref>