Editing Lake Erie

{{short description|One of the Great Lakes in North America}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{distinguish|Lake Eyre}}
{{other uses}}
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Lake Erie
| native_name       =
| image              = A1.23188.1851.LakeErie.143.250m.jpg
| caption            = NOAA satellite image of Lake Erie from July 7, 2023. Light green swirls are [[algae bloom]] on the western edge of the lake. 
| image_bathymetry   = Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair bathymetry map.png
| caption_bathymetry = Lake Erie and [[Lake St. Clair|Lake Saint Clair]] [[Bathymetry|bathymetric]] map.<ref name="GLBathEr" /><ref name="GLBathHur" /><ref name="GLBathOnt" /><ref name="GLOBE" /> The deepest point is marked with "×".<ref name="NOAA_GLERL" />
| coords             = {{coord|42.2|N|81.2|W|type:waterbody_scale:3000000|display=inline,title}}
| location           = [[North America]]
| group              = [[Great Lakes]]
| lake_type          = [[Glacial lake|Glacial]]
| inflow             = [[Detroit River]]<ref name="StateofOhio" />
| outflow            = [[Niagara River]]<br/>[[Welland Canal]]<ref name="EPA"/>
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = {{flag|Canada}}<br>{{flag|United States}}
| length             = {{convert|241|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|57|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|9910|sqmi|km2|-2|abbr=on}}<ref name="EPA"/>
| depth              = {{convert|62|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="EPA"/>
| max-depth          = {{convert|210|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=nyt/>
| volume             = {{convert|116|cumi|km3|abbr=on}}<ref name="EPA"/>
| residence_time     = 2.6 years
| shore              = {{convert|799|mi|km|abbr=on}} plus {{convert|72|mi|km|abbr=on}} for islands<ref>[https://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,4561,7-135-3313_3677-15959--,00.html Shorelines of the Great Lakes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405211915/https://www.michigan.gov/deq/0%2C4561%2C7-135-3313_3677-15959--%2C00.html|date=April 5, 2015}}</ref>
| elevation          = {{convert|569|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="EPA"/>
| islands            = 24+ ''(see [[#Islands|list]])''
| islands_category   = Islands of the Great Lakes
| cities             = [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]]<br>[[Buffalo, New York]]<br/>[[Erie, Pennsylvania]]<br/>[[Toledo, Ohio]]<br/>[[Monroe, Michigan]]<br/>[[Leamington, Ontario]]<br/>[[Port Colborne, Ontario]]<br/>
<!--      Map      -->| pushpin_map        = North America
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt    = Location of Lake Erie in North America.
| pushpin_map_caption = <!--   Below       -->
| website            = 
| reference          = <ref name=nyt/>
}}

[[File:Lake-Erie.svg|thumb|right| The [[Great Lakes]], with Lake Erie highlighted in darker blue ]]

'''Lake Erie''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪr|i}} {{respell|EER|ee}}) is the fourth-largest [[lake]] by surface area of the five [[Great Lakes]] in [[North America]] and the eleventh-largest globally.<ref name="StateofOhio"/><ref name="worldatlas list"/> It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by [[volume]] of the Great Lakes<ref name="GLIN F&F"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/us/A0817584.html|title=Erie, Lake - FactMonster|website=www.factmonster.com|access-date=September 5, 2006|archive-date=February 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229070745/http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/us/A0817584.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and also has the shortest average water [[lake retention time|residence time]]. At its deepest point, Lake Erie is {{convert|210|ft|m|sp=us}} deep, making it the only Great Lake whose deepest point is above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-18 |title=Great Lakes Profile |url=https://vividmaps.com/great-lakes-profile/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Vivid Maps |language=en-US |archive-date=November 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123233925/https://vividmaps.com/great-lakes-profile/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Located on the [[Canada–United States border|International Boundary]] between [[Canada]] and the [[United States]], Lake Erie's northern shore is the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Ontario]], specifically the [[Ontario Peninsula]], with the [[U.S. state]]s of [[Michigan]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[New York (state)|New York]] on its western, southern, and eastern shores. These jurisdictions divide the surface area of the lake with water boundaries. The largest city on the lake is [[Cleveland]], anchoring the third largest U.S. metro area in the [[Great Lakes region]], after [[Chicago metropolitan area|Greater Chicago]] and [[Metro Detroit]]. Other major cities along the lake shore include [[Buffalo, New York]]; [[Erie, Pennsylvania]]; and [[Toledo, Ohio]].

Situated below [[Lake Huron]], Erie's primary inlet is the [[Detroit River]]. The main natural outflow from the lake is via the [[Niagara River]], which provides [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power]] to Canada and the U.S. as it spins huge turbines near [[Niagara Falls]] at [[Lewiston (town), New York|Lewiston, New York]], and [[Queenston|Queenston, Ontario]].<ref name="twsZ54" /> Some outflow occurs via the [[Welland Canal]], part of the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]], which diverts water for ship passages from [[Port Colborne]], Ontario, on Lake Erie, to [[St. Catharines]] on [[Lake Ontario]], an elevation difference of {{convert|326|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. Lake Erie's environmental health has been an ongoing concern for decades, with issues such as [[overfishing]], [[pollution]], [[algal bloom|algae bloom]]s, and [[eutrophication]] generating headlines.<ref name="twsZ61" /><ref name="NYT031413" />

==Geography==

===Geographic features===
{{see also|Lake Erie Basin}}
[[File:ISS067-E-90447 Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie on May 28, 2022, taken from the International Space Station]]
[[File:Bass Islands map.png|thumb|right|upright|Partial map of the [[Lake Erie Islands]] ]]
Lake Erie (42.2° N, 81.2W) has a mean elevation of {{convert|571|ft|m}}<ref name=nyt /> above sea level. It has a surface area of {{convert|9990|sqmi|km2|0}}<ref name="EPA" /> with a length of {{convert|241|smi|km nmi|lk=on}}<ref name="EPA"/> and breadth of {{convert|57|smi|km nmi}}<ref name="EPA"/> at its widest points. It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes with an average depth of 10 [[fathom]]s 3 feet or {{convert|63|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="EPA" /> and a maximum depth of {{convert|35|fathom|ft m|0}}<ref name="EPA" /><ref name="nyt" /> Because Erie is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/70035/219/Dr-Charles-E-Herdendorf |title=Dr. Charles E. Herdendorf |publisher=Wkyc.com |date=February 26, 2008 |access-date=December 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210140618/http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/70035/219/Dr-Charles-E-Herdendorf |archive-date=February 10, 2013 }}</ref> and in 1999 this almost became a problem for two [[nuclear power plant]]s which require cool lake water to keep their reactors cool.<ref name="twsX213" /> The warm summer of 1999 caused lake temperatures to come close to the {{convert|85|°F|°C|abbr=on}} limit necessary to keep the plants cool.<ref name="twsX213" /> Also because of its shallowness, it is the first to freeze in the winter.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?hr=00&ext=ice&type=N&lake=l| title = GLCFS-FVCOM Products| access-date = January 26, 2014| archive-date = January 19, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140119031600/http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=l&ext=ice&type=N&hr=00| url-status = dead}}</ref> The shallowest section of Lake Erie is the [[Western Basin of Lake Erie|western basin]] where depths average only {{convert|25|to|30|ft|m}}; as a result, "the slightest breeze can kick up lively waves", also known as [[seiche]]s.<ref name="twsX43d" /> The "waves build very quickly", according to other accounts.<ref name="twsZ31" /><ref name="twsX312c" /> The region around the lake is known as the "thunderstorm capital of Canada" with "breathtaking" lightning displays.<ref name="twsX312c" /> Sometimes fierce waves springing up unexpectedly have led to dramatic rescues; in one instance, a [[Cleveland]] resident trying to measure the dock near his house became trapped but was rescued by a fire department diver from [[Avon Lake, Ohio]]:

{{blockquote|In a tug of war against the waves, the two were finally hauled out by rope. After being trapped for an hour-and-a-half, Baker was back on dry land, exhausted and battered but alive.|Tatiana Morales, ''[[CBS News]]'', 2004<ref name=twsX411 />}}

Lake Erie is primarily fed by the Detroit River (from [[Lake Huron]] and [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake St. Clair]]) and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario. Navigation downstream is provided by the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]], [[Huron River (Michigan)|Huron River]], [[Maumee River]], [[Sandusky River]], [[Cuyahoga River]], and [[Buffalo River (New York)|Buffalo River]]. The [[drainage basin]] covers {{convert|30140|sqmi|km2}}.

[[Point Pelee National Park]], the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, is located on a peninsula extending into the lake. Lake Erie has 31 islands ([[List of Lake Erie Islands|13 in Canada, 18 in the U.S.]]), located generally in the western side of the lake. The largest of these is [[Pelee, Ontario|Pelee Island]].


===Water levels===
Lake Erie has a [[lake retention time]] of 2.6 years,<ref name=twsX314a/> the shortest of all the Great Lakes.<ref name="EPA Basic" /> The lake's surface area is {{convert|9910|sqmi|km2|0}}.<ref name="EPA"/><ref name=twsJanY112 /><!---The article sited is referring to Pennsylvania's portion of the lake, 9940 square miles is MUCH greater than 470,000 acres. 6,361,600 actually.---><!---  yes thank you for pointing out the discrepancy &ndash; are the facts right now as you see it? if so please feel free to delete these two comments, thanx. Tomwsulcer---> Lake Erie's water level fluctuates with the seasons as in the other Great Lakes. Generally, the lowest levels are in January and February and the highest in June or July, although there have been exceptions. The average yearly level varies depending on long-term precipitation. Short-term level changes are often caused by [[seiche]]s that are particularly high when southwesterly winds blow across the length of the lake during storms. These cause water to pile up at the eastern end of the lake. Storm-driven seiches can cause damage onshore. During one storm in November 2003, the water level at Buffalo rose by {{convert|7|ft|m}} with waves of {{convert|10|–|15|ft|m|abbr=off}} for a rise of {{convert|22|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/glwlphotos/Seiche/1113Storm/November2003.html|title=Great Lakes Storm Surges November 12–13, 2003|publisher=Glerl.noaa.gov|access-date=December 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409230328/http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/glwlphotos/Seiche/1113Storm/November2003.html|archive-date=April 9, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Meanwhile, at the western end of the lake, Toledo experienced a similar drop in water level.

* '''Historic High Water'''. In the summer of 1986, Lake Erie reached its highest level at {{convert|5.08|ft|m}} above the datum.<ref name=COE-2009 /> The high water records were set from April 1986 through January 1987. Levels ranged from {{convert|4.33|to(-)|5.08|ft|m}} above the datum.<ref name=COE-2009/>
* '''Historic Low Water'''. In the winter of 1934, Lake Erie reached its lowest level at {{convert|1.5|ft|m}} below the datum.<ref name=COE-2009/> Monthly low water records were set from July 1934 through June 1935. During this twelve-month period water levels ranged from {{convert|1.5|ft|m}} below the datum to even with the datum.<ref name=COE-2009/>

==Geology==
Lake Erie was carved out by [[glacier]] ice and went through many phases before its current form that is less than 4,000 years old, which is a short span in geological terms.<ref name="k012">{{cite book | last=Robbins | first=P. | title=Encyclopedia of Environment and Society: FIVE-VOLUME SET | publisher=SAGE Publications | series=Gale virtual reference library | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-4522-6558-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JvtBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA604 | access-date=2024-11-29 | page=604}}</ref> Before this, the land on which the lake now sits went through several complex stages. A large lowland basin formed over two million years ago as a result of an eastern flowing river that existed well before the [[Quaternary glaciation|Pleistocene ice ages]]. This ancient drainage system was destroyed by the first major glacier in the area, while it deepened and enlarged the lowland areas, allowing water to settle and form a lake. The glaciers were able to carve away more land on the eastern side of the lowland because the bedrock is made of [[shale]] which is softer than the carbonate rocks of [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]] and [[limestone]] on the western side. Thus, the eastern and central basins of the modern lake are much deeper than the western basin, which averages only {{convert|25|ft|m}} deep and is rich in nutrients and fish.<ref name=twsOhioStateUniv/> Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes because the ice was relatively thin and lacked erosion power when it reached that far south, according to one view.

[[File:Lake Warren Fig 15.JPG|thumb|Map of Lake Warren in the Lake Huron and Lake Erie Basins]]
As many as three glaciers advanced and retreated over the land, causing temporary lakes to form in the time periods in between each of them (see: [[Lake Whittlesey]], [[Lake Maumee]] and [[Lake Arkona]]). Because each lake had a different volume of water, their shorelines rested at differing elevations. The last lake to form, [[Lake Warren]], existed between about 13,000 and 12,000 years ago. It was deeper than the current Lake Erie, and its shoreline existed about {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} inland from the modern one. [[Early Lake Erie]] went through many phases with its ancient sand dunes visible in the [[Oak Openings Region]] in [[Northwest Ohio]]. 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/lakeerie/lefact1/tabid/7829/Default.aspx|title=Hansen, Michael C. "The History of Lake Erie"|publisher=Ohiodnr.com|access-date=December 10, 2012|archive-date=November 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124080806/http://www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey/lakeerie/lefact1/tabid/7829/Default.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==

===Indigenous peoples===
At the time of European contact, there were several Indigenous peoples living around the shores of the eastern end of the lake. The [[Erie people|Erie tribe]] (from whom the lake takes its name) lived along the southern edge, while the [[Neutral Nation|Neutrals]] (also known as Attawandaron) lived along the northern shore. The tribal name "erie" is a shortened form of the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] word {{lang|iro|erielhonan}}, meaning "long tail".<ref name="Room20062">{{cite book|last=Room |first=A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C&pg=PA150|title=Placenames of the World: Origins And Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features And Historic Sites|publisher=McFarland|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7|page=150}}</ref> The name may also come from the word ''eri'', meaning "cherry tree".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Delâge|first=Denys|title=Aboriginality and Governance: A Multidisciplinary Approach|publisher=Theytus Books|year=2006|isbn=1894778243|editor-last=Christie|editor-first=Gordon|location=[[Penticton Indian Reserve]], [[British Columbia]]|pages=28|chapter=Aboriginal Influence on the Canadians and French at the time of New France}}</ref> Near Port Stanley, there is an Indigenous village dating from the 16th century known as the ''Southwold Earthworks'' where as many as 800 Neutral Indigenous peoples once lived; the archaeological remains include double earth walls winding around the grass-covered perimeter.<ref name=twsX18/> Europeans named the tribe the ''Neutral Indians'' since these people refused to fight with other tribes.<ref name=twsX18/>

Both the Erie and Neutrals were colonized and assimilated by their hostile eastern neighbors, the [[Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy]], between 1651 and 1657 during the [[Beaver Wars]].<ref>Trigger, Bruce; ''The Children of Aataentsic'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, Kingston and Montreal,1987, {{ISBN|0-7735-0626-8}}), pp. 789–797.</ref> For decades after those wars, the land around eastern Lake Erie was claimed and utilized by the Iroquois as a hunting ground. As the power of the Iroquois waned during the last quarter of the 17th century, several other, mainly [[Anishinaabe]], displaced them from the territories they claimed on the north shore of the lake.<ref>Schmalz, Peter S.; ''The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario'' (University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo, London, 1991, {{ISBN|0-8020-2736-9}}), pp. 13–34.</ref> 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.<ref name=twsZ31/>

===European exploration and settlement===
[[File:A Map of the Western parts of the Colony of Virginia, 1754.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Map showing Lake Erie, 1754]]
[[File:Great Lakes Steamship Walk-in-the-Water.jpg|thumb|right|''Walk in Water'', built in Buffalo, was the first steamship on Lake Erie. Picture {{circa|1816}}.]]

In 1669, Frenchman [[Louis Jolliet]] was the first documented European to sight Lake Erie, although there is speculation that [[Étienne Brûlé]] may have come across it in 1615.<ref>Ashworth, William (1987). ''The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History'', p. 36. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. {{ISBN|0-8143-1887-8}}.</ref> Lake Erie was the last of the Great Lakes to be explored by Europeans, since the Iroquois who occupied the Niagara River area were in conflict with the French, and they did not allow explorers or traders to pass through; explorers followed rivers out of Lake Ontario and portaged to [[Lake Huron]]. British authorities in Canada were nervous about possible expansion by American settlers across Lake Erie, so Colonel [[Thomas Talbot (Upper Canada)|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, Ontario|Port Talbot]], the [[Talbot River (Ontario)|Talbot River]], and [[Talbotville, Ontario|Talbotville]].<ref name=twsX18/>

[[File:Battle erie.jpg|thumb|right|''Battle of Lake Erie'' (1865) by [[William H. Powell]] depicts US Navy commander [[Oliver Hazard Perry]]]]

During the [[War of 1812]], a [[United States Navy]] squadron under [[Oliver Hazard Perry]] captured a smaller [[Royal Navy]] squadron near [[Put-in-Bay, Ohio]] at the 1813  [[Battle of Lake Erie]].<ref name="twsZ41a2">{{cite news|date=January 26, 2011|title=Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center (PLESRC)|publisher=The Great Lakes Historical Society|url=http://www.inlandseas.org/plesrc/index.html|url-status=dead|access-date=January 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814033117/http://inlandseas.org/plesrc/index.html|archive-date=August 14, 2010}}</ref><ref name=twsZ16 /> As part of the conflict, American troops made repeated raids throughout the Ontario area around [[Port Rowan, Ontario|Port Rowan]], burning towns and villages.<ref name=twsX18/> Generally, however, with the exceptions of the [[American Revolutionary War]] and the War of 1812—which were conflicts between the U.S. and Britain—relations between the U.S. and Canada have been remarkably friendly with an "unfortified boundary" and an agreement "that has kept all fleets of war off the Great Lakes."<ref name="twsZ21bb" />

In 1837, rebellions broke about between Canadian settlers and the [[British Empire|British Colonial government]]. These primarily concerned political reforms and land allocation issues. Some of the rebels stationed themselves in the U.S. and crossed the ice from [[Sandusky Bay]] to Pelee Island wearing "tattered overcoats and worn-out boots", and carrying muskets, pitchforks, and swords,<ref name=twsZ31/> but the islanders had already fled.<ref name=twsZ31/> Later, there was a battle on the ice with the Royal 32nd Regiment, with the rebels being driven to retreat.<ref name=twsZ31/>

[[File:Brig Niagara (Lorain, Ohio).jpg|thumb|At an Ohio history festival, the 19th-century style brig warship ''Niagara'' passes the [[Lorain, Ohio|Lorain]] lighthouse.]]
Settlers established commercial fisheries on the north coast of the lake around the 1850s.<ref name="twsX14b" /> An important business was fishing.<ref name=twsX314a/> In the pre-Civil War years, railways sprouted everywhere, and around 1852 there were railways circling the lake.<ref name=twsZ15 /> Maritime traffic picked up, although the lake was usually closed because of ice from December to early April, and ships had to wait for the ice to clear before proceeding.<ref name=twsZ17 /> Since slavery had been abolished in Canada in 1833 but was still legal in [[Southern United States|southern U.S.]], a Lake Erie crossing was sometimes required for fugitive slaves seeking freedom:

{{blockquote|When Kentucky fugitive Lewis Clarke arrived in Cleveland, he had no idea how to find Canada. "I went out to the shore of the lake again and again, to try and see the other side, but I could see no hill, mountain, nor city of the asylum I sought," he once told an interviewer. "I was afraid to inquire where (Canada) was, lest it would betray such a degree of ignorance as to excite suspicion at once." Many fugitives also had to overcome fears instilled by their former masters ...|Chris Lackner in the ''Ottawa Citizen'', 2006<ref name=twsZ51 />}}

Prior to modern radar and [[weather forecasting]], merchant ships were often caught up in intense gales:

{{blockquote|A violent gale is blowing on Lake Erie ... The schooner ''Stranger'' came in this morning and reports seeing a vessel about {{convert|12|mi|km|disp=x| [|]}} up, {{convert|2|mi|km|disp=x| [|]}} from the Canada shore, with three men clinging to the masts, which alone were visible above the water–heard their cries and screams ...|''The New York Times'', October 1853<ref name=twsZ11 />}}

There were reports of disasters usually from sea captains passing information to reporters; in 1868, the captain of the ''Grace Whitney'' saw a sunken vessel with "three men clinging to the masthead," but he could not help because of the gale and high seas.<ref name=twsZ19 />

A [[balloonist]] named John Steiner of [[Philadelphia]] made an ambitious trip across the lake in 1857.<ref name=twsJanY312 /> His voyage was described in ''[[The New York Times]]'':

{{blockquote|He arose to the height of about three miles, and started off at a slow but steady rate ... The lake could be seen from one end to the other nearly ... At one time Mr. Steiner counted 38 sail vessels, all in sight, and far below him. The hands on board several of the vessels saw him, and rightly apprehending that he was an aeronaut, cheered him heartily ... 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. Seeing a propeller (powered boat) ... the ''Mary Stewart'' ... He first struck the water about 25 miles below Long Point ... During this time Mr. Steiner says he thinks his balloon bounded from the water at least twenty times. It would strike and then rebound, like a ball, going into the air from twenty to fifty feet, and still rushing down the lake at railroad speed ... Mr. Steiner then abandoned the balloon, leaping into the water and swimming towards the boat, which speedily reached him ...|''[[The New York Times]]'', July 23, 1857<ref name=twsJanY312/>|title=|source=}}

In 1885, lake winds were so strong that water levels dropped substantially, sometimes by as much as two feet, so that at ports such as Toledo, watercraft could not load coal or depart the port.<ref name=twsZ22 /> During the history of the lake as a fishery, there has been marked battling by opposing interest groups:

{{blockquote|The preservation of the fisheries of Lake Erie has become a serious problem to all who have given it close attention ... the fisheries are being exhausted by the wasteful methods which are now in vogue ... it is still the custom of the pound fishermen about Sandusky to take fish of all sizes, and if they are too small to be marketable they are turned over to a fertilizer factory. If left undisturbed for two or three years more, these little fish would be a very valuable product ...|''[[The New York Times]]'', 1895<ref name=twsJanY314/>}}

[[File:Put-in-Bay view from the Peace Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|View from [[Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial]] at [[Put-in-Bay, Ohio]]]]
[[File:Lake Erie historical map, 1901 - DPLA - 94a2d4b0d5bd2a5b21428b55acec7eab.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie historical map, 1901]]
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. Business boomed; in 1901, the Carnegie Company proposed building a new harbor near Erie, Pennsylvania, in [[Elk Creek (Lake Erie)|Elk Creek]] to accommodate shipments from its tube-plant site nearby.<ref name=twsZ18 /> In 1913, a memorial to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was built on Put-in-Bay island featuring a Doric column.<ref name="twsZ21bb"/>

[[Great Lakes passenger steamers|Steamships]] have operated on Lake Erie since the early 1800s. Large, opulent cruise liners carried passengers between Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and other cities on the lake until the rise of the automobile in the 1950s drastically cut demand for their services. The [[Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company|Detroit and Cleveland Navigation]] company was one of the largest and most renowned of these companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Dan |title=Greater Detroit |url=https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/greater-detroit |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=historicdetroit.org |archive-date=August 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802052334/https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/greater-detroit |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] years from 1919 to 1933, a "great deal of alcohol crossed Erie"<ref name=twsZ31/> along with "mobster corpses" dumped into the Detroit River which sometimes washed up on the beaches of Pelee Island.<ref name=twsX312a /> Notable [[rum-running|rum runners]] included [[Thomas Joseph McGinty]] and [[the Purple Gang]].  The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] attempted to interdict the Canadian liquor with its [[Rum Patrol]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dalitzinvegas.com/moe-dalitz/life.html|title=Moe Dalitz in Vegas|access-date=June 18, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803024317/http://dalitzinvegas.com/moe-dalitz/life.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.cleveland.com/avon-lake/2018/09/avon_lake_alcohol_history_turn.html|title = Avon Lake alcohol history turns into fundraising opportunity at Bicentennial Beer Festival coming up on September 22|date = September 17, 2018|access-date = June 18, 2020|archive-date = August 3, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200803065740/https://www.cleveland.com/avon-lake/2018/09/avon_lake_alcohol_history_turn.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>Newton, Michael (2009). Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz. McFarland. {{ISBN|978-0786435166}} P. 36</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eriehistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/prohibition-eries-rebellion.html|title=Prohibition: Erie's Rebellion|access-date=June 18, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803024049/https://eriehistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/prohibition-eries-rebellion.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2008/12/15/Part-9-Jack-Kennedy-s-death-brings-crackdown-on-crime.html|title=The Blade &#124; Toledo's breaking news, sports, and entertainment watchdog|access-date=June 18, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803023549/https://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2008/12/15/Part-9-Jack-Kennedy-s-death-brings-crackdown-on-crime.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and a casino operated on [[Middle Island (Lake Erie)|Middle Island]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Erie/MiddleIsland.htm |title=Lighthouses of the Great Lakes |access-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622181542/http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/erie/MiddleIsland.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 20th century, commercial fishing was prevalent but so was the boom in manufacturing industry around the lake, and often rivers and streams were used as sewers to flush untreated sewage which ended up in the lake.<ref name="twsJanY214a" /> Sometimes poorly constructed sanitary systems meant that when old pipes broke, raw sewage would spill directly into the [[Cuyahoga River]] and into the lake.<ref name="twsJanY214a"/> A report in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1969 described the lake as a "gigantic cesspool" since only three of 62 beaches were rated "completely safe for swimming".<ref name="twsJanY214a"/>

By 1975 the popular commercial fish [[Blue walleye|blue pike]] had been declared extinct, although the declaration may have been premature.<ref name=twsX512 /> By the 1980s, there were about 130 fishing vessels with about 3,000 workers,<ref name="twsX14b"/> but commercial fishing was declining rapidly, particularly from the American side.

===Great Lakes Compact===
{{main|Great Lakes Compact}}
In 2005, the Great Lakes states of [[Ohio]], [[Michigan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Wisconsin]], and [[Minnesota]] and the Canadian Provinces of [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]] endorsed the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Compact. It was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] in September 2008. 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. It had support from both political parties, including United States Senator [[George Voinovich]] of Ohio and Governor [[Jennifer Granholm]] of Michigan, but is not popular in the [[Southwestern United States|southwestern states]] because of frequent drought conditions and [[water scarcity]].

==Lake environment==

===Climate===

====Lake Erie in winter====
[[File:LakeEffectSnow.png|thumb|right|Cold air travels over warm lake water. The air becomes warmer, moister, less dense, so that it rises; when it passes over land, the reduced airspace causes the air to "pile up" resulting in "frictional convergence." This lifts the air even further to where it cools, turning into droplets or snowflakes. The result is enhanced snowfall.<ref name=twsJanY313b/>]]
[[File:LakeErie-1.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie in winter]]
Like the other Great Lakes, Erie produces [[lake-effect snow]] when the first cold winds of winter pass over the warm waters. When the temperatures of the relatively warm surface water and the colder air separate to at least {{convert|18|F-change}} to {{convert|23|F-change}} apart,<!-- It's a difference of temperatures, not an actual temperature of the lake or air themselves --> then "lake-effect snow becomes possible:"<ref name=twsJanY313b />

{{blockquote|As cold air flows over the warm water, the lake warms and moistens the air. Since warm, moist air is less dense than cold air, the heated air rises. Rising air cools and water vapor condenses into cloud droplets ... the efficiency of snow production increases when the wind pushes the clouds over land. Friction with the ground causes air to pile up. This frictional convergence creates lift and enhances snowfall.|Bob Swanson and Adrienne Lewis of ''[[USA Today]]'', 2008<ref name=twsJanY313b/>}}

Heavy lake-effect snowfalls can occur when cold air travels {{convert|60|mi}} or longer over a large unfrozen lake.<ref name=twsJanY313b/> Lake-effect snow makes Buffalo and Erie the eleventh and thirteenth snowiest cities in the entire United States respectively, according to data collected from the [[National Climatic Data Center]].<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-01-snowiest-cities_x.htm Answers: 10 snowiest 'cities' aren't all in New York] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012221017/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-10-01-snowiest-cities_x.htm |date=October 12, 2011 }}. Also creating the [[snow belt]] from [[Cleveland]] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. Chris Cappella, ''USATODAY.com.''</ref> 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. Buffalo typically gets {{convert|95|in|cm}} of snow each winter and sometimes {{convert|10|ft|m|spell=in}} of snow;<ref name=twsJanY313a /> the snowiest city is [[Syracuse, New York]], which can receive heavy snowfall from both the lake effect process and large coastal cyclones. A storm around Christmas in 2001 pounded Buffalo with {{convert|7|ft}} of snow.<ref name=twsJanY111 />

[[File:Frozen Lake Erie.jpg|thumb|right|Lake Erie in winter]]
The effects of the warmer lake water is reduced when the lake freezes over.<ref name="twsX36" /> In January 2011, for example, residents of Cleveland were glad when Lake Erie was "90 percent frozen" since it meant that the area had "made it over the hump" in terms of enduring repeated snowfalls which required much shoveling.<ref name=twsX211 /> Being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it is the most likely to freeze and frequently does.<ref name="Straight Dope" /> In contrast, [[Lake Michigan]] has never completely frozen over since the warmer and deeper portion is in the south, although it came close to being totally frozen during three harsh winters over the past century.<ref name=twsX35 /> In past years, lake ice was so thick that it was possible to drive over it or go sailing on [[iceboat]]s.<ref name=twsX312a/> Many lake residents take advantage of the ice and travel; some drive to Canada and back:<ref name=twsJanY114/>

{{blockquote|The first ice usually forms in late November, and by January it locks into place. For islanders in the Western Basin, it is the equivalent of summer vacation ... Once the lake freezes, islanders organize impromptu ice rallies. Families gather to drink hot wine and race all-terrain vehicles across the lake. They also race [[Ice boat|iceboats]], which resemble sailboats on skates ... Many people drive to other islands for dinner with friends. They ride in cars with the roofs and doors chopped off so they can escape if the vehicles fall through the ice. Islanders stab evergreen trees into the ice every {{convert|50|yard|disp=sqbr}} to mark a route ... Even in the coldest winters, there are dangerous patches of thin ice. The cracks are so predictable that the Put-in-Bay Ice Yacht Club prints them on a map ... On a normal winter day, the ice is dotted with 2,000 fishing shanties.|Christopher Maag in ''[[The New York Times]]'', 2004<ref name=twsJanY114/>}}

====Windy conditions====
Strong winds have caused lake currents to shift sediment on the bottom, leading to shifting [[Shoal|sandbars]] that have been the cause of shipwrecks.<ref name=twsX312a/> But winds can have a peaceful purpose as well; there have been proposals to place electricity–producing [[wind turbine]]s in windy and shallow points in the lake and along the coast. [[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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson |first=David |title=Megawatts up at Steel Winds |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/business/local-business/article736169.ece |access-date=July 8, 2012 |newspaper=The Buffalo News |date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223023415/http://www.buffalonews.com/business/local-business/article736169.ece |archive-date=February 23, 2012 }}</ref> A plan by [[Samsung Corporation|Samsung]] to build an offshore [[wind farm]] on the north shore of the lake, from [[Port Maitland, Ontario|Port Maitland]] to [[Nanticoke, Ontario|Nanticoke]] for a distance of {{convert|15.5|mi|km|abbr=on}},<ref name=twsJanY113 /> has been met with opposition from residents. Canadians near [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]] and [[Kingsville, Ontario|Kingsville]] have organized protest groups to thwart attempts to bring wind turbines to the lake; reasons against the turbines include spoiling lake views.<ref name=twsZ24 /> Plans to install turbines in Pigeon Bay, south of [[Leamington, Ontario|Leamington]] were met with opposition as well.<ref name=twsZ56 /><ref name=twsZ55 /> 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.

====Microclimates====
The lake is responsible for [[microclimate]]s that are important to agriculture. Along its north shore is one of the richest areas of Canada's fruit and vegetable production; this southernmost tip, particularly in the area around Leamington, is known as Canada's "tomato capital".<ref name=twsZ24/> The area around [[Port Rowan, Ontario|Port Rowan]] has special trees that grow because of the "tempering effect of the lake", and species include [[Liriodendron|tulip trees]], [[Cornus|dogwood]], [[sassafras]], and [[Nyssa sylvatica|sour gum]].<ref name=twsX18/> This area's many greenhouses produce a "variety of tropical plants rarely cultivated so far north", including some species of cacti, because of the lake's tempering effect.<ref name=twsX18/> Along the southeastern shore of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is an important [[grape]]-growing region, as are the islands in the lake. [[Apple]] orchards are abundant in northeast Ohio to western New York.

====Long-term weather patterns====
According to one estimate, {{convert|34|to|36|inch}} of water evaporate each year from the surface of the lake,<ref name="StateofOhio"/> which allows for rainfall and other precipitation in surrounding areas. Reports are conflicting about the overall effect of [[global warming]] on the Great Lakes region, including Lake Erie. One account suggests that climate change is causing greater [[evaporation]] of lake water, leading to warmer temperatures, as well as thinner or nonexistent ice in winter, which is 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."<ref name=twsX312a/> In 2010, the ''[[Windsor Star]]'' reported that the lake experienced record-breaking water temperatures, reaching {{convert|81|°F|°C|abbr=on}} in mid-August and compared the lake to a "bath tub".<ref name=twsZ27 />

===Ecosystems===
[[File:Avon Lake power plant.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Fossil fuel power station|coal-fired power plant]] in [[Avon Lake, Ohio]], located on Lake Erie]]
Lake Erie has a complex ecosystem with many species in interaction. Human activity, such as pollution and maritime ship traffic, can affect this environment in numerous ways. The interactions between new species can sometimes have beneficial effects, as well as harmful effects. Some introductions have been seen as beneficial such as the introduction of [[Oncorhynchus|Pacific salmon]].<ref name=twsX312a/> 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.<ref name=twsZ />

====Invasive species====
The lake has been plagued with a number of [[invasive species]], including [[zebra mussel|zebra]]<ref name=twsX312a/> and [[Quagga mussel|quagga]] mussels, the [[Round goby|goby]], and the [[grass carp]]. One estimate was that 180 invasive species are in the Great Lakes, some having traveled in ballast water in international ships.<ref name=twsZ28a/> Zebra mussels and gobies have been credited with the increased population and size of [[smallmouth bass]] in Lake Erie.<ref>[https://www.espn.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=tourn_03_north_open_NY_erie_preview 2003–04 CITGO Bassmaster Northern Open].
BASS Communications – September 3, 2003</ref> In 2008, concerns arose that the "newest invader swarming in the Great Lakes", the [[Hemimysis anomala|bloody-red shrimp]], might harm fish populations and promote [[algae bloom|algal blooms]].<ref name=twsZ45 />

Environmentalists and biologists study lake conditions via installations such as the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory on [[Gibraltar Island]]. The lab, which was established in 1895, is the oldest biological field station in the United States. Stone Laboratory was donated to the [[Ohio State University]] by Julius Stone in 1925 as part of the university's Ohio Sea Grant College program.<ref name=twsOhioStateUniv>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, [http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/publications/GS/GS-025ExploretheLakeErieIslandsAGuidetoNatureandHistoryAlongtheLakeErieCoastalTrail.pdf Explore the Lake Erie Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222214756/http://www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/publications/GS/GS-025ExploretheLakeErieIslandsAGuidetoNatureandHistoryAlongtheLakeErieCoastalTrail.pdf |date=February 22, 2012 }}, Retrieved September 1, 2014, (see page 5) "... Lake Erie's shallow, nutrient-rich western basin and the much deeper central and eastern basins. ... The western basin ... dolomite and limestone are more durable than the softer shales ... glacier dug through the stones ... resistance from the dolomite and limestone in the western basin ..."</ref><ref name=twsZ28a /> 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]].<ref name=twsZ28a/>

Other invasive species in Lake Erie include [[Bythotrephes longimanus|spiny water fleas]], [[Cercopagis pengoi|fishhook water fleas]], [[sea lamprey]], and [[white perch]]. The invasive plant species in Lake Erie consist mainly of [[Eurasian milfoil]], ''[[Trapa natans]]'' and [[purple loosestrife]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Invasive Species of Lakes Erie and Ontario|url=https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/ais/pdfs/AIS-LErieOnt.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2020|pages=G–2|publisher=Stony Brook University|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141116/https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/ais/pdfs/AIS-LErieOnt.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The shore of the lake is also host to invasive species of the ''[[Phragmites]]'' reed genus.<ref>{{cite web|title=Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative|url=https://www.greatlakesphragmites.net/resources/casestudies-3/lake-erie-cwma/|access-date=November 11, 2021|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111204642/https://www.greatlakesphragmites.net/resources/casestudies-3/lake-erie-cwma/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms====
[[File:HAZARDOUS WALK OFF HUNTINGTON BEACH ON LAKE ERIE THROUGH ALGAE AND UPROOTED TREES. HIGH WATER AND UNCONTROLLED... - NARA - 550242.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1973 photo from the U.S. [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] showing [[Coastal erosion|beach erosion]], algae, and uprooted trees as a result of environmental issues]]
[[File:Toxic Algae Bloom in Lake Erie.jpg|thumb|The green scum shown in this image taken in October 2011 is the worst [[algal bloom]] Lake Erie has experienced in decades.]]
An ongoing concern is that nutrient overloading from fertilizers and human and animal waste, known as [[eutrophication]], in which additional [[nitrogen]] and [[phosphorus]] enter the lake, will cause plant life to "run wild and multiply like crazy".<ref name=twsZ61 /> Since fewer [[wetland]]s remain to filter nutrients, and greater channelization of waterways, nutrients in water can cause algal blooms to sprout, with "low-oxygen dead zones" in a complex interaction of natural forces.<ref name=twsZ61/> As of the 2010s, much of the phosphorus in the lake comes from fertilizer applied to [[no-till farming|no-till]] soybean and corn fields, but washed into streams by heavy rains. The algal blooms result from growth of ''[[Microcystis]]'', a toxic [[Cyanobacteria|blue-green alga]] that the zebra mussels, which infest the lake, do not eat.<ref name=NYT031413 />

Periodically, a ''dead zone'', or region of low oxygen, occurs in the lake, the location of which varies. Scientists from the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] have been studying the lake's blue-green algal blooms and trying to find ways to predict when they are spreading or where they might make landfall; typically, the blooms arrive late each summer.<ref name=twsX412a /> This problem was extreme in the mid- and late 1960s, and the [[Angelo F. Coniglio|Lake Erie Wastewater Management Study]] conducted by the Buffalo District of the U.S. Army [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]] determined that the eutrophication was caused by point sources such as industrial outfalls and municipal sanitary and storm sewer outfalls, as well as diffuse sources, such as overland runoff from farm and forest land. All of these sources contribute nutrients, primarily phosphorus, to the lake. Growth of organisms in the lake is then spiked to the point that oxygen levels are depleted. Recommendations were made for reducing point-source outflows, and reducing farm contributions of phosphorus by changing fertilizer usage, employing no-till farming, and other conservative practices. Many industrial and municipal sources have since been greatly reduced. The improved farming practices, which were voluntary, were followed for a while, resulting in remarkable recovery of the lake in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Reference Group on Great Lakes Pollution from Land Use Activities|url=http://www.ijc.org/php/publications/pdf/ID506.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111082657/http://www.ijc.org/php/publications/pdf/ID506.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 11, 2013|pages=G–2|publisher=International Joint Commission}}</ref>

The conservation practices are not monitored and have not been kept up. One recent account suggests that the seasonal algal blooms in Lake Erie were possibly caused by runoff from cities, fertilizers, zebra mussels, and livestock near water.<ref name=twsX412a/> A second report focuses on the zebra mussels as being the cause of dead zones, since they filter so much sediment that this produces an overgrowth of algae.<ref name=twsX312a/> One report suggests the oxygen-poor zone began about 1993 in the lake's central basin and becomes more pronounced during summer, but is somewhat of a mystery why this happens.<ref name=twsX414 /> Some scientists speculate that the dead zone is a naturally occurring phenomenon.<ref name=twsZ28a/> 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.<ref name=twsZ28a/> Two two-year, $2&nbsp;million studies are trying to understand the "growing zone", which was described as a 10-foot-thick layer of cold water at the bottom, {{convert|55|ft|m}} in one area, which stretches {{convert|100|mile|disp=sqbr}} across the lake's center.<ref name=twsX414/> It kills fish and microscopic creatures of the lake's food chain and fouls the water, and may cause further problems in later years for sport and commercial fishing.<ref name=twsX414/>

[[Algal bloom|Algal blooms]] continued in early 2013, but new farming techniques, climate change, and even a change in Lake Erie's ecosystem make phosphorus pollution more intractable.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/earth/algae-blooms-threaten-lake-erie.html |title=Spring Rain, Then Foul Algae in Ailing Lake Erie |date=March 14, 2013 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315120454/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/earth/algae-blooms-threaten-lake-erie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Blue-green algae ([[Cyanobacteria]]) bloom,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weather.gov/cle/LakeErieHAB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812144803/https://www.weather.gov/cle/LakeErieHAB |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |title=Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) |publisher=National Weather Service}}</ref> were problematic in August 2019. According to a news report in August, "scientists fully expect [it] to overwhelm much of western Lake Erie again this summer".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/local/environment/2019/08/07/summer-2019-algal-bloom-coming-strong-western-lake-erie-algae-scientists-canada/stories/20190807160 |title=Summer algal bloom coming on strong in western Lake Erie |work=Toledo Blade |last=Henry |first=Tom |date=August 7, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803002207/https://www.toledoblade.com/local/environment/2019/08/07/summer-2019-algal-bloom-coming-strong-western-lake-erie-algae-scientists-canada/stories/20190807160 |url-status=live }}</ref> By August 12, 2019, the bloom extended for roughly {{convert|50|km}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/08/12/scientists-on-high-alert-as-massive-green-menace-threatens-lake-erie.html |title=Scientists on high alert as green menace threatens Lake Erie |work=Toronto Star |last=Allen |first=Kate |date=August 12, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107231248/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/08/12/scientists-on-high-alert-as-massive-green-menace-threatens-lake-erie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A large bloom does not necessarily mean the cyanobacteria ... will produce toxins", said Michael McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research <!-- (GLIER) --> at the [[University of Windsor]]. "Not enough is being done to stop fertilizer and phosphorus from getting into the lake and causing blooms," he added. Water testing was being conducted in August.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/large-lake-erie-algal-bloom-nearing-colchester-tested-for-toxicity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811140408/https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/large-lake-erie-algal-bloom-nearing-colchester-tested-for-toxicity |archive-date=August 11, 2019 |title=Large Lake Erie algal bloom nearing Colchester tested for toxicity |work=Windsor Star |last=Hill |first=Sharon |date=August 7, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2022}}</ref> 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 NOAA. In early August, the 2019 bloom was expected to measure 7.5 on the severity index, but could range between 6 and 9.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/ootw-algae-forecast-predict-large-summer-harmful-algal-bloom-for-lake-erie |title=Lake Erie's toxic algal bloom spreads, prompting warnings |last=Sutherland |first=Scott |work=The Weather Network |date=August 6, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802234642/https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/ootw-algae-forecast-predict-large-summer-harmful-algal-bloom-for-lake-erie |url-status=live }}</ref> At that time, satellite images depicted a bloom stretching up to {{convert|1300|km2}} on Lake Erie, with the epicenter near [[Toledo, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2019-08-07/uwindsor-researchers-test-waters-harmful-algae-bloom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812145246/http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2019-08-07/uwindsor-researchers-test-waters-harmful-algae-bloom |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |title=UWindsor researchers test the waters for harmful algae bloom |publisher=University of Windsor |date=August 8, 2019 |access-date=July 20, 2022}}</ref>

====Snakes====
The Lake Erie water snake, a subspecies of the northern water snake (''[[Common watersnake|Nerodia sipedon]]''), lives in the vicinity of Ohio's Put-in-Bay Harbor and had been placed on the threatened species list.<ref name=twsX12 /> By 2010, the water snake population was over 12,000 snakes.<ref name=twsX12/> While they have a nonvenomous bite, they are a key predator in the lake's aquatic ecosystem since they feed on [[Necturus|mudpuppies]], [[walleye]], and [[smallmouth bass]].<ref name=twsX12/> The snake is helpful in keeping the population of goby fish in check.<ref name=twsX12/> They mate from late May through early June and can be found in large mating balls with one female bunched within several males.<ref name=twsX13/>

====Insects and birds====
In 1999, a local TV station's [[Weather radar|Doppler weather radar]] detected millions of [[Mayfly|mayflies]] heading for Presque Isle in blue and green splotches on the radar in clouds measuring {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=twsX24 /> These insects were a sign of Lake Erie's move back to health, since the mayflies require clean water to thrive.<ref name=twsX24/> Biologist Masteller of [[Pennsylvania State University]] declared the insects to be a "nice nuisance" since they signified the lake's return to health after 40 years of absence.<ref name=twsX24/> Each is {{convert|1.5|inch|abbr=on}} long; the three main species of mayflies are ''Ephemera simulans'', ''Hexagenia rigida'', and ''H. limbata''.<ref name=twsX24/> The insects mate over a 72-hour period from June through September; they fly in masses up to the shore, mate in the air, then females lay up to 8,000 eggs each over the water; the eggs sink back down and the cycle repeats.<ref name=twsX24/> Sometimes, the clouds of mayflies have caused power outages<ref name=twsX37 /> and caused roads to become slippery with squashed insects.<ref name=twsX24/> [[Zebra mussel|Zebra mussels]] filtering extra nutrients from the lake allows the mayfly larvae to thrive.<ref name=twsX37/>

[[File:Cygnus buccinator -Lake Erie, Michigan, USA-8 (1).jpg|thumb|right|[[Trumpeter swan]]s (''Cygnus buccinator'') on Lake Erie]]

Incidents of birds dying from [[botulism]] have occurred, in 2000<ref name=twsX31 /> and in 2002.<ref name=twsX26 /> Birds affected included [[grebe]]s, [[Common merganser|common]] and [[red-breasted merganser]]s, [[loon]]s, diving ducks, [[ring-billed gull]]s, and [[herring gull]]s.<ref name=twsX31/> One account suggests that bird populations are in trouble, notably the [[wood warbler]], which had population declines around 60% in 2008.<ref name=twsX312a/> Possible causes for declines in bird populations are farming practices, loss of habitats, soil depletion and erosion, and toxic chemicals.<ref name=twsX312a/> In 2006, concerns arose of possible [[avian influenza]] (bird flu) after two wild swans on the lake were found diseased, but they did not contain the [[Influenza A virus subtype H5N1|H5N1 virus]].<ref name=twsJanY311 /> Sightings of a [[magnificent frigatebird]], a tropical bird with a 2 m wingspan, happened over the lake in 2008.<ref name=twsZ34 />

====Water quality issues and restoration====
[[File:Buffalo December 2024 34 (Lake Erie).jpg|thumb|Lake Erie at Buffalo in 2024]]

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.<ref name=twsZ36>{{cite news
 |title        = Troubled Waters: Pollution in the Great Lakes: Topic spans: 1959–1996
 |publisher    = CBC Digital Archives
 |year         = 2009
 |url          = http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/pollution/topics/1390/
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = December 9, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101209012941/http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/pollution/topics/1390/
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> In the 1970s, patches of the lake were declared dead because of [[industrial waste]] and 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."<ref name="twsX43d"/>

Incidents occurred of the oily surfaces of tributary rivers emptying into Lake Erie catching fire: in 1969, Cleveland's [[Cuyahoga River]] erupted in flames,<ref name="twsX215">{{cite news|date=December 3, 1979|title=Environment: Comeback for the Great Lakes|magazine=Time magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948661,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408152157/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948661,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2008|access-date=January 24, 2011}}</ref> chronicled in a ''Time'' magazine article which lamented a tendency to use rivers flowing through major cities as "convenient, free sewers";<ref name="twsJanY214a"/> the [[Detroit River]] caught fire on another occasion.<ref name=twsX312a/> The outlook was gloomy:

{{blockquote|Each day, Detroit, Cleveland and 120 other municipalities fill Erie with {{convert|1.5|e9usgal|e6m3|abbr=off|disp=sqbr}} of "inadequately treated wastes, including nitrates and phosphates ... These chemicals act as fertilizer for growths of algae that suck oxygen from the lower depths and rise to the surface as odoriferous green scum ... Commercial and game fish—blue pike, whitefish, sturgeon, northern pike—have nearly vanished, yielding the waters to trash fish that need less oxygen. Weeds proliferate, turning water frontage into swamp. In short, Lake Erie is in danger of dying by suffocation.|''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, August 1969<ref name="twsJanY214a"/>|title=|source=}}

In December 1970, a federal [[grand jury]] investigation led by U.S. Attorney [[Robert Jones (Ohio lawyer)|Robert Jones]] began, of water pollution allegedly being caused by about 12 companies in northeastern Ohio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-51-%E2%80%9CUS-Opens-Probe-Here-on-Pollution%E2%80%9D-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-1970|title=REF 51 "U.S. Opens Probe Here on Pollution" The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, December 1970.|website=Home {{!}} Robert Walter Jones J.D. Library and Archive|date=June 24, 2018|language=en|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225161957/https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-51-%E2%80%9CUS-Opens-Probe-Here-on-Pollution%E2%80%9D-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-1970|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first grand jury investigation of water pollution in the area.  The grand jury indicted four corporations for polluting Lake Erie and waterways in northeast Ohio. Facing fines were Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., Shell Oil Co., Uniroyal Chemical Division of Uniroyal Inc. and Olin Corp.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-52-US-Jury-Indicts-CEI-on-Ash-Dumping-in-Lake%E2%80%9D-by-Brian-Williams-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-1970|title=REF 52 U.S. Jury Indicts CEI on Ash Dumping in Lake" by Brian Williams, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, December 1970.|website=Home {{!}} Robert Walter Jones J.D. Library and Archive|date=June 24, 2018|language=en|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802231202/https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-52-US-Jury-Indicts-CEI-on-Ash-Dumping-in-Lake%E2%80%9D-by-Brian-Williams-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-1970|url-status=live}}</ref> [[United States Attorney General]] John N. Mitchell gave a press conference December 18, 1970, referencing new pollution control litigation, with particular reference to work with the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]], and announcing the filing of a lawsuit that morning against the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation for discharging substantial quantities of [[cyanide]] into the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2011/08/23/12-18-1970.pdf|title=Press Conference Attorney General John Mitchell 12-18-1970|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412070125/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2011/08/23/12-18-1970.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Jones filed the misdemeanor charges in [[United States district court|district court]], alleging violations of the [[Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899|1899 Rivers and Harbors Act]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-53-%E2%80%9CCharges-JL-With-Pollution%E2%80%9D-AP-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-31st-1970|title=REF 53 "Charges J&L With Pollution" (AP) The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, December 31st, 1970.|website=Home {{!}} Robert Walter Jones J.D. Library and Archive|date=June 24, 2018|language=en|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225161919/https://rojoneswi.wixsite.com/robertjonesjdlibrary/single-post/2018/06/24/REF-53-%E2%80%9CCharges-JL-With-Pollution%E2%80%9D-AP-The-Plain-Dealer-Cleveland-Ohio-December-31st-1970|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cleveland's director of public utilities Ben Stefanski pursued a massive effort to "scrub the Cuyahoga"; the effort cost $100&nbsp;million in bonds, according to one estimate.<ref name="twsJanY214a" /> New sewer lines were built.<ref name="twsJanY214a" /> Clevelanders approved a bond issue by 2 to 1 to upgrade Cleveland's sewage system.<ref name="twsJanY214a" /> Federal officials acted as well: the [[United States Congress]] passed the [[Clean Water Act]] of 1972,<ref name="twsX215" /><ref>Ashworth (1987), pp. 143–44.</ref> and the United States and Canada established [[water pollution]] limits in an international water quality agreement. The Corps' LEWMS was also instituted at that time.

The clearing of the water column is partly the result of the introduction and rapid spread of zebra mussels from Europe, which had the effect of covering the lake bottom, with each creature filtering a liter of fresh water each day, helping to restore the lake to a cleaner state.<ref name=twsX43d/> The 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement significantly reduced the dumping and runoff of phosphorus into the lake. The lake has since become clean enough to allow sunlight to infiltrate its water and produce algae and sea weed, but a dead zone persists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html|title=Lake Erie|website=US Environmental Protection Agency|date=August 20, 2015|access-date=December 16, 2005|archive-date=January 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108040642/http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/lakeerie/eriedeadzone.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been instances of beach closings at Presque Isle because of unexplained E. Coli contaminations,<ref name=twsX22a>{{cite news
 |author       = Don Hopey
 |title        = Mystery lurks in Lake Erie: E. coli pollution has closed beaches the past two summers; experts can't determine where it comes from or how to stop it
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = August 27, 2006
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06239/716416-85.stm
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = November 24, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111124074008/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06239/716416-85.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> possibly caused by sewer water overflows after heavy downpours.

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.<ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10366_46403_46404-145852--,00.html Recovery of Lake Erie Walleye a Success Story]. ''Michigan Department of Natural Resources.''  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011160409/http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0%2C1607%2C7-153-10366_46403_46404-145852--%2C00.html |date=October 11, 2012 }}</ref> There was substantial evidence that the new controls had substantially reduced levels of [[DDT]] in the water by 1979.<ref name=twsX215cc/> Cleanup efforts were described in 1979 as a notable environmental success story, suggesting that the cumulative effect of legislation, studies, and bans had reversed the effects of pollution:<ref name=twsX215cc/>

{{blockquote|The globs of oil, the multicolored industrial discharges, the flotsam from shoreline cities, the fecal and bacterial wastes are no longer dumped in the lakes in vast quantities.|''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, 1979<ref name=twsX215cc/>}}

Joint U.S.–Canadian agreements pushed 600 of 864 major industrial dischargers to meet requirements for keeping the water clean.<ref name=twsX215cc/> One estimate was that $5&nbsp;billion was spent to upgrade plants to treat sewage.<ref name=twsX215cc/> The change toward cleaner water has been in a positive direction since the 1970s.

There was a tentative exploratory plan to capture [[Carbon dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]], compress it to a liquid form, and pump it a half-mile (800 m) beneath Lake Erie's surface underneath the porous rock structure.<ref name=twsZ62>{{cite news
 |author       = Tyler Hamilton
 |title        = Risky business
 |newspaper    = The Star
 |date         = July 9, 2007
 |url          = https://www.thestar.com/business/article/233699--risky-business
 |access-date   = January 26, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023100125/http://www.thestar.com/business/article/233699--risky-business
 |archive-date = October 23, 2012
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> According to [[Chemical engineering|chemical engineer]] Peter Douglas, there is sufficient storage space beneath Lake Erie to hold between 15 and 50 years of liquid {{CO2}} emissions from the 4,000 megawatt Nanticoke coal plant.<ref name=twsZ62/> But there has been no substantial progress on this issue since 2007.

==Economy==

===Fishing===

====Species of fish====
[[File:Erie 07-04-2008 01;14;23PM.JPG|thumb|Summer morning west of [[Cleveland]]]]
Lake Erie is home to one of the world's largest freshwater commercial fisheries. Lake Erie's fish populations are the most abundant of the Great Lakes, partially because of the lake's relatively mild temperatures and plentiful supply of [[plankton]], which is the basic building block of the [[food chain]].<ref name="twsX14b"/> The lake's fish population accounts for an estimated 50% of all fish inhabiting the Great Lakes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2012/mar/22/marcy-kaptur/rep-marcy-kaptur-says-lake-erie-has-more-native-fi/|title=Rep. Marcy Kaptur says Lake Erie has more native fish than all other Great Lakes combined|access-date=September 4, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022230/http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2012/mar/22/marcy-kaptur/rep-marcy-kaptur-says-lake-erie-has-more-native-fi/|url-status=live}}</ref> The lake contains [[Rainbow trout|steelhead]],<ref name=twsZ14/> [[walleye]] (known in Canada as pickerel),<ref name=twsX14b/><ref name=twsZ14/> [[largemouth bass]], [[smallmouth bass]],<ref name=twsZ14/> [[perch]],<ref name="twsZ14">{{cite news |author=Weisberg |first=Deborah |date=January 27, 2008 |title=Fishing: Meet the burbot: The freshwater cod are running, but night fishing at Lake Erie can be brutally cold |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08027/852559-358.stm |access-date=January 26, 2011 |archive-date=November 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109052948/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08027/852559-358.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[lake trout]], [[Chinook salmon|king salmon]], whitefish, [[Smelt (fish)|smelt]], and many others.<ref name=twsX14b/> The lake consists of a long list of well established [[introduced species]]. Common non-indigenous fish species include the [[rainbow smelt]], [[alewife (fish)|alewife]], [[white perch]] and [[common carp]]. Non-native sport fish such as [[rainbow trout]] and [[brown trout]] are stocked specifically for anglers to catch. Attempts failed to stock [[coho salmon]], and its numbers are dwindling. Commercial landings are dominated by yellow perch and walleye, with substantial quantities of rainbow smelt and white bass also taken. Anglers target walleye and yellow perch, with some effort directed at rainbow trout.

Up until the end of the 1950s, the most commonly caught commercial fish (more than 50% of the commercial catch) was a subspecies of the walleye known as the [[blue walleye]] (''Sander vitreus glaucus'') sometimes erroneously called "blue pike". In the 1970s and 1980s, as pollution in the lake declined, counts of walleyes which were caught grew from 112,000 in 1975 to 4.1&nbsp;million in 1985, with estimates of the numbers of walleyes in the lake at around 33 million in the basin, with many of {{convert|8|lb}} or more.<ref name="twsJanY211">{{cite news |author=Husar |first=John |date=August 18, 1985 |title=Here's Proof Lake Erie's Alive And Well |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/08/18/heres-proof-lake-eries-alive-and-well/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807122426/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-08-18/sports/8502240030_1_lake-erie-walleyes-lunkers |archive-date=August 7, 2011}}</ref> Not all walleyes thrived. 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. But the Lake Erie walleye was reportedly having record numbers, even in 1989, according to one report.<ref name=twsX41>{{cite news
 |author       = Julie Sheer
 |title        = Fishing Hole of the Week
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = March 30, 1989
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/03/30/fishing-hole-of-the-week-12/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204131329/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-03-30/sports/8903310711_1_lake-erie-walleye-minnows
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

There have been concerns about rising levels of mercury in walleye fish; a study by the Canadian Ministry of the Environment noted an "increasing concentration trend" but that concentrations were within acceptable limits established by authorities in Pennsylvania.<ref name="twsX511" /> Because of the threat of [[PCBs]], It was recommended, that persons eat no more than one walleye meal per month.<ref name="twsX511">{{cite news
 |author       = Deborah Weisberg
 |title        = Mercury levels rising
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = July 4, 2010
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10185/1070323-358.stm
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 2, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101202135837/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10185/1070323-358.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Because of these and other concerns, in 1990, the National Wildlife Federation was on the verge of having a "negative fish consumption ''advisory''" for walleye and smallmouth bass, which had been the main catch of an $800&nbsp;million commercial fishing industry.<ref name="twsX513">{{cite news
 |author       = John Husar
 |title        = Mussel Mess A Heavy Burden For Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = January 31, 1990
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/01/31/mussel-mess-a-heavy-burden-for-lake-erie/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204140906/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-01-31/sports/9001090502_1_lake-erie-lake-michigan-walleyes
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

The longest fish in Lake Erie is reportedly the [[sturgeon]] which can grow to {{convert|10|ft}} long and weight {{convert|300|lb}}, but it is an [[endangered species]] and mostly lives on the bottom of the lake.<ref name=twsX27a/> In 2009, there was a confirmed instance of a sturgeon being caught, which was returned to the lake alive, and there are hopes that the population of sturgeons is resurging.<ref name=twsX32>{{cite news
 |author       = Deborah Weisberg
 |title        = Sturgeon resurgence in Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = July 19, 2009
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09200/984887-358.stm
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = November 24, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111124072727/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09200/984887-358.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

====Commercial fishing====
[[File:Lake Erie Sunset with fish net.JPG|thumb|right|Sunset on Lake Erie seen through a fishing net]]
Estimates vary about the fishing market for the Great Lakes region. In 2007, one estimate of the total market for fishing in the Great Lakes, including commercial and recreational fishing, was $4&nbsp;billion annually.<ref name=twsX412a/> Another estimate was more than $7&nbsp;billion.<ref name="twsX14b"/> But since high levels of pollution were discovered in the 1960s and 1970s, there has been continued debate over the desired intensity of commercial fishing. Commercial fishing in Lake Erie has been hurt by pollution as well as government regulations which limit the size of their catch; one report suggested that the numbers of fishing boats and employees had declined by two-thirds in recent decades.<ref name="twsX14b" /> Another concern had been that pollution in the lake, as well as toxins found inside fish, were working against commercial fishing interests.<ref name="twsX215" />

U.S. fishermen based along Lake Erie lost their livelihood over the past few decades and no longer catch fish such as whitefish for markets in New York.<ref name=twsX314a>{{cite news
 |author       = Dennis B. Roddy
 |title        = Caught in a net of laws and bans, fishermen lost their livelihood
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = September 30, 2010
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10273/1091470-454.stm
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = October 3, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101003072413/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10273/1091470-454.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Pennsylvania had a special $3 stamp on fishing licenses to help "compensate commercial fishermen for their losses", but this program ended after five years.<ref name=twsX314a/> One blamed the commercial fishing ban on a "test of wills" between commercial and recreational fishermen: "One side needed large hauls. The other feared the lake was being emptied."<ref name=twsX314a/>

[[File:15-04-19 008 Modern fish tug, AMANDA MAY on Lake Erie.jpg|thumb|right|Canadian commercial fishing boat coming into the harbor at Port Burwell on Lake Erie]]
Commercial fishing is now predominantly based in Canadian communities, with a much smaller fishery—largely restricted to [[yellow perch]]—in Ohio. The Ontario fishery is one of the most intensively managed in the world. However, there are reports that some Canadian commercial fishermen are dissatisfied with fishing quotas and have sued the government about this matter, and there have been complaints that the legislative body writing the quotas is dominated by the U.S. and that sport fishing interests are favored at the expense of commercial fishing interests.<ref name=twsZ32>{{cite news
 |publisher=The Windsor Star 
 |title=Lake Erie fishermen suing government over quotas 
 |website=Canada.com 
 |date=September 18, 2007 
 |url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=c664e767-a81e-450e-b471-c90bd072691b&k=54718 
 |access-date=January 26, 2011 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828013743/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=c664e767-a81e-450e-b471-c90bd072691b&k=54718 
 |archive-date=August 28, 2012 
}}</ref> Cuts of 30 to 45 percent for certain fish were made in 2007.<ref name=twsZ32/> The Lake Erie fishery was one of the first fisheries in the world managed on individual transferable quotas and features mandatory daily catch reporting and intensive auditing of the catch reporting system. Still, the commercial fishery is the target of critics who would like to see the lake managed for the exclusive benefit of sport fishing and the various industries serving the sport fishery. According to one report, the Canadian town of [[Port Dover, Ontario|Port Dover]] is the home of the lake's largest fishing fleet.<ref name=twsX18/>

====Government regulations====
The lake can be thought of as a common asset with multiple purposes including being a fishery. 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, D.C.|Washington]] or [[Ottawa]], and trying to make their case to the [[public opinion|public]] through newspaper reporting.<ref name=twsJanY314>{{cite news
 |title        = A GREAT INDUSTRY IN DANGER; The Fish Supply of Lake Erie Likely to be Exhausted Unless the State of Ohio Takes Action.
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = January 31, 1895
 |url          = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20913F8395911738DDDA80B94D9405B8585F0D3
 |access-date  = January 25, 2010
 |archive-date = November 11, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024109/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20913F8395911738DDDA80B94D9405B8585F0D3
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> But other groups have entered the political process as well, including [[environmentalism|environmentalists]], lakefront property owners, industry owners and workers seeking cost-effective solutions for sewage, ferry boat operators, even corporations making electric-generating wind turbines.

Management of the fishery is by consensus of all management agencies with an interest in the resource and work under the mandate of the [[Great Lakes Fishery Commission]]. The commission makes assessments using sophisticated [[mathematical model]]ing systems. The commission has been the focus of considerable recrimination, primarily from angler and charter fishing groups in the U.S. which have had a historical antipathy to commercial fishing interests. 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. One report suggests that battling between diverse fishing interests began around Lake Michigan and evolved to cover the entire Great Lakes region.<ref>[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/9.1/szylvian.html Szylvian, K.M. 2004.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305053512/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/9.1/szylvian.html |date=March 5, 2009 }} ''Transforming Lake Michigan into the 'World's Greatest Fishing Hole': The Environmental Politics of Michigan's Great Lakes Sport Fishing, 1965–1985.''</ref> The analysis suggests that in the Lake Erie context, the competition between sport and commercial fishing involves universals and that these conflicts are cultural, not scientific, and therefore not resolvable by reference to ecological data.<ref>Berkes, F. 1984. Competition between commercial and sport fishermen: an ecological analysis. Human Ecology 12: 413–429.</ref>

====Sport fishing====
The lake supports a strong sport fishery. While commercial fishing declined, sport fishing has remained. The deep cool waters that spawn the best fishing is in the Canadian side of the lake.<ref name="twsX413a">{{cite news |author=Hall |first=Mimi |date=March 27, 2008 |title=Going fishing? Pack your passport |newspaper=USA TODAY |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-03-26-fishing_N.htm |access-date=January 24, 2011 |quote=That's because half of Lake Erie – as it happens, the half with the deeper and cooler waters that often spawn the best fishing – is in Canada. |archive-date=November 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104124707/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-03-26-fishing_N.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=twsX413a/> If their boat crosses the invisible border line in the lake, upon returning to the American shore, passengers need to report to a local border protection office.<ref name=twsX413a/>

In 2008, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission tried stocking the lake with [[brown trout]] in an effort to build what's called a ''put-grow-and-take'' fishery.<ref name="twsJanY115">{{cite news
 |author       = Deborah Weisberg
 |title        = Looking ahead to 2009 (and '10): New plan to stock trout in Erie steelhead streams
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = December 28, 2008
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08363/938086-358.stm
 |access-date  = January 25, 2010
 |archive-date = November 24, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111124074306/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08363/938086-358.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> 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.<ref name="twsJanY211" /> In 1984, Ohio sold 27,000 nonresident fishing permits, and sport fishing was described as big business.<ref name="twsJanY211" /> In 1992, there were accounts of fishermen regularly catching walleye weighing up to {{convert|12|lb|abbr=}}.<ref name="twsJanY212">{{cite news |author=Husar |first=John |date=December 6, 1992 |title=Feeding Frenzy: Lake Erie Is Awash In Hungry Walleye |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/12/06/feeding-frenzy-lake-erie-is-awash-in-hungry-walleye/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204134920/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-12-06/sports/9204210276_1_lake-erie-big-fish-charter-captain |archive-date=December 4, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="twsZ14" />

====Ice fishing====
In winter when the lake freezes, many fishermen go out on the ice, cut holes, and fish. It is even possible to build bonfires on the ice.<ref name=twsJanY114>{{cite news
 |author       = Christopher maag
 |title        = On Great Lakes, Winter Is Served Straight Up
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = February 19, 2006
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/national/19lake.html
 |access-date  = January 25, 2010
 |archive-date = August 11, 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140811014803/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/national/19lake.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> But venturing on Lake Erie ice can be dangerous. In a 2009 incident, warming temperatures, winds of {{convert|35|mph}} and currents pushing eastward dislodged a miles-wide ice floe which broke away from the shore, trapping more than 130 fishermen offshore; one man died while the rest were rescued by helicopters or boats.<ref name="twsX16">{{cite web |author=Seewer |first=John |date=February 7, 2009 |title=Officials: 1 dead, 134 rescued from Lake Erie ice |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/07/hundreds-trapped-on-ice-i_n_164908.html |access-date=January 24, 2011 |website=Huffington Post |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112091002/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/07/hundreds-trapped-on-ice-i_n_164908.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|The day began with fishermen setting down wooden pallets to create a bridge over a crack in the ice so they could roam farther out on the lake. But the planks fell into the water when the ice shifted, stranding the fishermen about 1,000 yards offshore ... When fishermen realized late Saturday morning that the ice had broken away, they began to debate the best way off. 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. ... When the rescued fishermen made it to shore, authorities had them line up single-file to take down their names.|John Seewer, February 2009<ref name=twsX16/>}}

===Agriculture===
[[File:Lonz Winery 6-27-10.jpg|thumb|right|Winery on [[Middle Bass Island]]]]
The lake's formerly more extensive lakebed creates a favorable environment for agriculture in the bordering areas of Ontario, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. The Lake Erie sections of western New York have a suitable climate for growing grapes, and there are many vineyards and wineries in [[Chautauqua County, New York|Chautauqua County]] and [[Erie County, Pennsylvania|Erie County]].<ref name="twsX42">{{cite news |author=Batz Jr. |first=Bob |date=October 22, 2006 |title=Well-trod Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail features explosion of wineries |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06295/731405-34.stm |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522012228/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06295/731405-34.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Canadian region of Lake Erie's north shore is becoming a more prominent wine region as well; it has been dubbed the Lake Erie North Shore, or LENS region, and includes Pelee Island,<ref name="twsZ52">{{cite news |author=VanderKlippe |first=Nathan |date=January 26, 2011 |title=Sample Canada's finest wine by visiting its exquisite graperies |newspaper=Vancouver Sun |url=https://vancouversun.com/travel/Sample+Canada+finest+wine+visiting+exquisite+graperies/1600568/story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=January 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902031038/http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Sample%2BCanada%2Bfinest%2Bwine%2Bvisiting%2Bexquisite%2Bgraperies/1600568/story.html |archive-date=September 2, 2010}}</ref> and since it is farther north than comparable wine-growing areas in the world, the length of the days in the summer are longer.<ref name=twsX415/> A longer growing season because of the lake-moderated temperatures make the risk of early frosts less likely.<ref name="twsX415">{{cite news |author=Pinkus |first=Michael |date=September 3, 2009 |title=Cork set to pop off Lake Erie wineries |newspaper=The Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/specialsections/localwines/article/688943--cork-set-to-pop-off-lake-erie-wineries |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=June 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606061318/http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/localwines/article/688943--cork-set-to-pop-off-lake-erie-wineries |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The drainage basin has led to well fertilized soil. The north coast of Ohio is widely referred to as its nursery capital.<ref>[http://www.lakecountyoh.net/businessmenu/business.php Lake County Ohio Business and Personal Directory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617072857/http://www.lakecountyoh.net/businessmenu/business.php |date=June 17, 2012 }}</ref>

===Tourism===

====Diving for shipwrecks====
Lake Erie is a favorite for divers since there are many shipwrecks, perhaps 1,400 to 8,000 according to one estimate,<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> of which about 270 are confirmed shipwreck locations.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> Research into shipwrecks has been organized by the Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center, located on the grounds of the Great Lakes Historical Society.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> Most wrecks are undiscovered but believed to be well preserved and at most {{convert|200|ft|m}} below the water surface.<ref name="twsX15a">{{cite news |author=Nass |first=Shannon M. |date=October 3, 2010 |title=Lake Erie shipwrecks, well-preserved by fresh water, are favorites among divers |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10276/1091928-140.stm |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124080448/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10276/1091928-140.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> One report suggests there are more wrecks per square mile than any other [[Fresh water|freshwater]] location, including wrecks from Indigenous watercraft. There are efforts to identify shipwreck sites and survey the lake floor to map the location of underwater sites, possibly for further study or exploration.<ref name=twsX28a/> While the lake is relatively warmer than the other Great Lakes, there is a thermocline, meaning that as a diver descends, the water temperature drops about {{convert|30|F-change|abbr=out}}, requiring a [[wetsuit]].<ref name=twsX15a/> One estimate is that Lake Erie has a quarter of all 8,000 estimated shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.<ref name=twsX15a/> They are preserved because the water is cold and salt-free.<ref name=twsX15a/> Divers have a policy of not removing or touching anything at the wreck.<ref name=twsX15a/> The cold conditions make diving difficult, requiring divers with skill and experience.<ref name=twsX15a/> One charter firm from western New York State takes about 1,500 divers to Lake Erie shipwrecks in a typical season from April through October.<ref name=twsX15a/>

{{blockquote|Among the diving community, they are considered world class, offering opportunities to visit an underwater museum that most people will never see.|reporter Shannon M. Nass of the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'', 2010<ref name=twsX15a/>}}

[[File:Steamship General Anthony Wayne.jpg|thumb|right|The paddle steamer ''Anthony Wayne'' sank in 1850 and was located in 2006 about {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} north of Vermilion, Ohio.]]

In 1991, the 19th-century [[paddle steamer]] ''Atlantic'' was discovered.<ref name=twsX23/> It had sunk in 1852 after a collision with the steamship ''Ogdensburg'', {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} west of [[Long Point, Ontario]], and survivors from ''Atlantic'' were saved by the crew of ''Ogdensburg''.<ref name=twsX23/><ref name=twsJanY315>{{cite news
 |title        = The Catastrophe on Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = August 23, 1852
 |url          = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7061FFE3955147B93C1AB1783D85F468584F9
 |access-date  = January 25, 2010
 |archive-date = November 11, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024121/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F7061FFE3955147B93C1AB1783D85F468584F9
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> One account suggests 130 people drowned<ref name=twsX23/> while another suggests about 20 drowned.<ref name=twsJanY315/> There was speculation that the sunken vessel had been a gambling ship, and therefore there might have been money aboard, but most historians were skeptical.<ref name=twsX23>{{cite news
 |title        = Lake Erie Journal; A Dive to Solve a Treasure Mystery
 |newspaper    = The New York Times
 |date         = June 28, 1991
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/lake-erie-journal-a-dive-to-solve-a-treasure-mystery.html
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = May 24, 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130524211804/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/lake-erie-journal-a-dive-to-solve-a-treasure-mystery.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

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. The propeller was reclaimed days before being converted to scrap metal and brought back to the dive site.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> In 2003, divers discovered the steamer ''Canobie'' near Presque Isle, which had sunk in 1921.<ref name="twsX28a">{{cite news |author=Spice |first=Byron |date=June 16, 2003 |title=Archaeologists surveying Lake Erie floor for shipwrecks |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030616underwater0616p2.asp |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=November 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124074313/http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030616underwater0616p2.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other wrecks include the fish tub ''Neal H. Dow'' (1910), the "steamer-cum-barge" ''Elderado'' (1880),<ref name="twsX28a" /> ''W. R. Hanna'',<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> ''Dundee'' which sank north of Cleveland in 1900,<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> ''F. H. Prince'',<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> and ''The Craftsman''.<ref name="twsZ41a2"/> In 2007, the wreck of the steamship named after [[Anthony Wayne|"Mad" Anthony Wayne]] was found near [[Vermilion, Ohio]], in {{convert|50|ft|m}} of water; the vessel sank in 1850 after its boilers exploded, and 38 people died.<ref name="twsZ37" /> The wreck belongs to the state of Ohio, and salvaging it is illegal, but divers can visit.<ref name="twsZ37">{{cite news
 |agency       = Associated Press
 |title        = 1850 shipwreck found in Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = The Star
 |date         = June 21, 2007
 |url          = https://www.thestar.com/article/227944
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = October 23, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023100213/http://www.thestar.com/article/227944
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> In addition, there are wrecks of smaller vessels, with occasional drownings of fishermen.<ref name="twsX214">{{cite news
 |author       = Art Barnum
 |title        = Lake Erie Search Ends For Missing Fisherman
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = April 19, 1994
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/04/19/lake-erie-search-ends-for-missing-fisherman/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204134642/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-04-19/news/9404190247_1_lake-erie-toledo-and-cleveland-capsized
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

====Public parks====
[[File:PresqueIsleStatePark.JPG|thumb|right|[[Presque Isle State Park]] in Pennsylvania is a [[peninsula]] in Lake Erie]]

There are numerous public parks around the lake. In western Pennsylvania, a [[Roderick Wildlife Reserve|wildlife reserve]] was established in 1991 in Springfield Township for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and walking along the beach.<ref name="twsX17">{{Cite news |first=Anya |last=Sostek |date=December 25, 2010 |title=Western Pa. Conservancy secures 113 acres along Lake Erie |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10359/1113491-454.stm |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=January 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105025227/http://post-gazette.com/pg/10359/1113491-454.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Ontario, Long Point is a peninsula on the northwest shore near Port Rowan that extends {{convert|20|mi|km}} into Lake Erie which is a stopover for birds migrating as well as turtles; [[Long Point Provincial Park]] is located there and has been designated as a [[Man and the Biosphere Programme|UNESCO Biosphere reserve]].<ref name=twsX18/> In Ontario's Sand Hill Park, east of [[Port Burwell, Ontario|Port Burwell]], there is a {{convert|450|ft|m|adj=on}} high dune which people climb for picturesque views of the lake.<ref name="twsZ35b">{{Cite news |first=Rebecca |last=Field Jager|date=April 9, 2010 |title=Central Canada charms: On the Erie shores, a very eerie sight |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=2783949&s=Life&p=2 |access-date=January 26, 2011}}{{dead link|date=December 2012}}</ref> In southern Michigan, [[Sterling State Park]] has campgrounds, {{convert|1300|acre|ha}} for hiking, biking, fishing, boating, with a sand beach for sunbathing, swimming, and picnicking.<ref name="twsZ13">{{Cite news |first=Lee |last=Grayson |date=January 26, 2011 |title=Campgrounds in Southern Michigan |work=USA Today: Travel |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/campgrounds-southern-michigan-4805.html |access-date=January 26, 2011 |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125064732/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/campgrounds-southern-michigan-4805.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Biking====
In 1997, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reporter Donna Marchetti took a bike tour around the Lake Erie perimeter, traveling {{convert|40|mi}} per day and staying at [[bed and breakfast]]s.<ref name="twsX18">{{cite news |author=Marchetti |first=Donna |date=June 29, 1997 |title=Circling Lake Erie by Bike |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/travel/circling-lake-erie-by-bike.html |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-date=July 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715064544/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/travel/circling-lake-erie-by-bike.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She biked through the cities of Cleveland, Erie, Windsor, Detroit and Toledo as well as resort towns, vineyards, and cornfields.<ref name=twsX18/> The trip highlights were the "small port towns and rural farmlands of southern Ontario".<ref name=twsX18/> There are few bike repair shops in Ontario on the route.<ref name=twsX18/>

====Islands====
[[File:Alvar4.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Alvar]] habitat on [[Kelleys Island, Ohio|Kelleys Island]]. [[South Bass Island]] visible in distance.]]

Lake Erie islands tend to be in the westernmost part of the lake and have different characters. Some of them include:
*Kelleys Island has activities such as beach lounging, hiking, biking, and viewing the deep [[Glacial striation|glacial grooves]] in the [[bedrock]] [[limestone]].<ref name=twsX21a/>
*Pelee Island is reached by ferry from Leamington, Ontario, or by plane or ferry in [[Sandusky, Ohio]], and is the largest of the Lake Erie islands.<ref name=twsX18/> The island has a unique ecosystem with plants rarely found in Canada such as wild hyacinth, yellow horse gentian, and prickly pear cactus.<ref name=twsX18/> There are two endangered snakes including the blue racer and the Lake Erie water snake. Songbirds migrate there in spring, and monarch butterflies stop over during the fall.<ref name=twsX18/>
*[[South Bass Island]] has the island-village of [[Put-in-Bay, Ohio]].<ref name=twsX21a>{{cite news
 |author       = Josh Noel
 |title        = A tale of 2 Lake Erie islands
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = August 30, 2009
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2009/08/30/a-tale-of-2-islands/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204135349/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-08-30/travel/0908270279_1_lake-erie-kelleys-island-south-bass-island
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> It has been described as a party island with scenic rocky cliffs with a year-round population in the hundreds that grows during summer.<ref name=twsX21a/>

====Water sports====
Kayaking has become more popular along the lake, particularly in places such as Put-in-Bay, Ohio.<ref name="twsX43d" /> There are extensive views with steep cliffs with exotic wildlife and extensive shoreline.<ref name="twsX43d"/> Long-distance swimmers have swum across the lake to set records; for example, a 15-year-old amputee swam the {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch across the lake in 2001.<ref name=twsX311>{{cite news
 |agency       = Tribune news services
 |title        = Disabled athlete swims 12 miles across Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = September 9, 2001
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/09/09/disabled-athlete-swims-12-miles-across-lake-erie/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204130511/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-09-09/news/0109090206_1_lake-erie-swim-miles
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> In 2008, 14-year-old Jade Scognamillo swam from New York's Sturgeon Point to Ontario's [[Crystal Beach, Ontario|Crystal Beach]] and completed the 11.9-mile (19.2-km) swim in five hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds, and became the youngest swimmer to make the crossing.<ref name=twsZ33>{{cite news
 |author       = Sunny Freeman
 |title        = Girl, 14, smashes week-old record for Lake Erie swim
 |newspaper    = The Star
 |date         = July 13, 2008
 |url          = https://www.thestar.com/article/459375
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = May 16, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100516040321/http://www.thestar.com/article/459375
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> It is illegal for swimmers younger than 14 to attempt such a crossing.<ref name=twsZ33/> In Port Dover, Ontario, swimmers do high-dives at the annual "Polar Bear Swim" on the beach.<ref name=twsZ23>{{cite news
 |author       = Dave Chidley
 |title        = In Pictures: Revellers from coast to coast greet the New Year with a traditional cold-water swim
 |newspaper    = The Globe and Mail
 |date         = January 2, 2011
 |url          = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/revellers-from-coast-to-coast-greet-the-new-year-with-a-traditional-cold-water-swim/article1855470/
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = January 9, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110109150804/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/revellers-from-coast-to-coast-greet-the-new-year-with-a-traditional-cold-water-swim/article1855470/
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Currents can pose a problem, and there have been occasional incidents of drownings.<ref name=twsZ25>{{cite news
 |title        = Remains of Calgary rescuer recovered from Lake Erie: Woman, 53, missing since Monday
 |publisher    = CBC News
 |date         = August 25, 2010
 |url          = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/remains-of-calgary-rescuer-recovered-from-lake-erie-1.956463
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = August 28, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100828084832/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2010/08/25/windsor-pelee-recovery-missing-calgary.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name=twsZ43>{{cite news
 |author       = Teri Pecoskie
 |title        = Burlington man drowns in Lake Erie
 |newspaper    = The Star
 |date         = August 19, 2010
 |url          = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/850325--burlington-man-drowns-in-lake-erie
 |access-date  = January 26, 2011
 |archive-date = August 24, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100824055308/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/850325--burlington-man-drowns-in-lake-erie
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

====Lighthouses====
[[File:HPIM8229.JPG|thumb|upright|Lighthouse on [[Mohawk Island]], Ontario]]
[[File:Cleveland West Pierhead Lighthouse.jpg|thumb|The West Pierhead Lighthouse in [[Cleveland]], Ohio]]
The lake is dotted by distinct lighthouses. A lighthouse off the coast of Cleveland, beset with cold lake winter spray, has an unusual artistic icy shape, although sometimes ice prevents the light from being seen by maritime vessels.<ref name=twsX25>{{cite web
 |author       = Dean Praetorius
 |title        = Frozen Lighthouse: Nature's Artwork On Lake Erie (VIDEO)
 |website      = Huffington Post
 |date         = December 16, 2010
 |url          = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/frozen-lighthouse_n_797750.html
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 20, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20101220100408/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/frozen-lighthouse_n_797750.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

====Folklore====
There have been unconfirmed reports of persons spotting a creature akin to the [[Loch Ness Monster]], beginning in the 19th century and sometimes called "[[Bessie (lake monster)|Bessie]]" or "South Bay Bessie".<ref name="twsX27a">{{cite news
 |agency       = Associated Press
 |title        = Legend of Lake Erie Monster Rises Again
 |newspaper    = Los Angeles Times
 |date         = September 30, 1990
 |url          = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-30-mn-2507-story.html
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = July 15, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120715045922/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-30/news/mn-2507_1_lake-erie
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref name="twsX33a">{{cite news
 |author       = Bob Batz Jr.
 |title        = The Lake Erie Monster is coming!
 |newspaper    = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 |date         = June 3, 2010
 |url          = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10154/1062551-389.stm
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = July 5, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100705141109/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10154/1062551-389.stm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> There were reports in 1990 of people seeing a "large creature moving in the water about {{convert|1000|ft|m}} from their boat" described as black in color, about {{convert|35|ft|m}} long, with a snakelike head, and moving as fast as a boat.<ref name="twsX27a" /> Five other people reported seeing something similar on three separate occasions, but there is no scientific evidence of such a creature.<ref name="twsX27a" /> There is a [[Great Lakes Brewing Company#Beers|''Lake Erie Monster'']] beer and a [[Cleveland Monsters]] hockey team.<ref name="twsX33a" />

There have been sporadic reports of people in Cleveland being able to see the Canadian shoreline as if it were immediately offshore, even though Canada is {{convert|50|mi|km}} from Cleveland. It has been speculated that this is a weather-related phenomenon, working on similar principles as a [[Looming and similar refraction phenomena#Looming|mirage]].<ref>{{cite web |last=((Associated Press)) |date=July 31, 2006 |title=Erie Mirage May Be Real |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/07/31/erie_pla.html?category=travel&guid=20060731110030 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015120744/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/07/31/erie_pla.html?category=travel&guid=20060731110030 |archive-date=October 15, 2012 |publisher=Discovery.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

===Shipping traffic===
The lake has been a shipping lane for maritime vessels for centuries.<ref name=twsX15a/><ref name=twsX28a/> Ships headed eastward can take the [[Welland Canal]]<ref name=twsX34/> and a series of eight locks descending {{convert|326|ft|m}} to Lake Ontario which takes about 12 hours.<ref name=twsX18/> Thousands of ships make this journey each year.<ref name=twsX18/> During the 19th century, ships could enter the [[Buffalo River (New York)|Buffalo River]] and travel the [[Erie Canal]] eastward to [[Albany, New York|Albany]] then south to New York City along the [[Hudson River]]. Generally there is heavy traffic on the lake except during the winter months from January through March when ice prevents vessels from traveling safely.<ref name=twsX34>{{cite news
 |author       = 
 |title        = Last Ship Clears Great Lakes
 |newspaper    = Chicago Tribune
 |date         = January 6, 1991
 |url          = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/01/06/last-ship-clears-great-lakes/
 |access-date  = January 24, 2011
 |archive-date = December 4, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204131011/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-01-06/travel/9101020283_1_lake-erie-st-lawrence-seaway-lake-ontario
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

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.<ref name="twsX315">{{cite news |author=Gorrie |first=Peter |date=August 31, 2007 |title=3 Greenpeace members held in Lake Erie stunt |newspaper=The Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/251941 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023100506/http://www.thestar.com/article/251941 |archive-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref>

===Ferryboats===
Ferryboats operate in numerous places: such as the passenger-only [[Jet Express (ferry line)|Jet Express Ferry]] from Sandusky and Port Clinton to Put-in-Bay and Kelly's Island. The Miller Ferry from Catawba Island to Put-In-Bay and [[Middle Bass Island]], the Kellys Island ferry from Marblehead to Kellys Island, and the Owen Sound Transportation Company from Leamington or Kingsville to Pelee Island and Sandusky.

However, plans to operate a ferryboat between the U.S. port of Erie and the Ontario port of Port Dover ran into a slew of political problems, including security restrictions on both sides as well as additional fees required to hire border inspectors.<ref name=twsX314a/> The project was abandoned.<ref name=twsX314a/>

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|website=www.great-lakes.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725204133/http://www.great-lakes.net/tourism/circletour/|archive-date=July 25, 2010}}</ref> Drivers can cross from the United States to the Canadian town of [[Fort Erie, Ontario|Fort Erie]] by going over the [[Peace Bridge]].<ref name=twsX18/>

===Border crossings===
Since the border between the two nations is largely unpatrolled, it is possible for people to cross undetected from one country to the other, in either direction, by boat. In 2010, Canadian police arrested persons crossing the border illegally from the United States to Canada, near the Ontario town of [[Amherstburg, Ontario|Amherstburg]].<ref name=twsZ26>{{cite news|first=Trevor|last=Wilhelm |title=5 nabbed on Lake Erie beach for entering Canada illegally |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=August 19, 2010 |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/Ontario+police+five+human+smuggling/3417695/story.html |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924055207/http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ontario%2Bpolice%2Bfive%2Bhuman%2Bsmuggling/3417695/story.html |archive-date=September 24, 2010 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Lakes}}
* [[Bass Islands]]
* [[Cedar Point]]
* [[Lake Erie AVA]]
* [[List of lakes in Ohio]]
* [[Maumee Bay]]
* [[1967 Lake Erie skydiving disaster]]
* [[Microcystis]]

==References==
{{reflist|1=30em|refs=
<ref name="StateofOhio">State of Ohio, Division of Geological Survey, [http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/7828/default.aspx Lake Erie Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325145738/http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/7828/Default.aspx |date=March 25, 2013}}, Accessed May 4, 2013</ref>
<ref name="worldatlas list">[http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-largest-lakes-in-the-world.html 10 Largest Lakes in the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031061910/http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-largest-lakes-in-the-world.html |date=October 31, 2017 }}. ''worldatlas.com.''</ref>
<ref name="GLIN F&F">{{cite web|url=http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/eriefact.html|title=Lake Erie – Facts and Figures|publisher=Great Lakes Information Network|access-date=December 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104082350/http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/eriefact.html|archive-date=January 4, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ54">{{cite news | title = From Honeymoon City to Hydro City | publisher = CBC Digital Archives | date = August 25, 1957 | url = http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/energy_production/topics/1750-11987/ | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = December 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204131256/http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/energy_production/topics/1750-11987/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="nyt">{{cite book |editor-first=John W. |editor-last=Wright |year=2006 | title=The New York Times Almanac |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimes200600wrig |url-access=registration | edition=2007 | publisher=Penguin Books |location = New York, New York | isbn=0-14-303820-6 | page=[https://archive.org/details/newyorktimes200600wrig/page/64 64]}}</ref>
<ref name="EPA">{{cite web |publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency |url=https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/physical-features-great-lakes |title=Physical Features of the Great Lakes |date=September 16, 2015 |access-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018082941/https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/physical-features-great-lakes |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX213">{{cite news | agency = Associated Press | title = Lake Erie Heat Wave Threatens Nuclear Plants' Cooling Systems | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = August 10, 1999 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-10-mn-64303-story.html | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = January 24, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100124031145/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/aug/10/news/mn-64303 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX43d">{{cite news | author = Denny lee | title = Reborn, Lake Erie Beckons Kayakers | newspaper = The New York Times | date = September 10, 2004 | url = http://travel.nytimes.com/2004/09/10/travel/escapes/10ERIE.html | access-date = January 24, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ31">{{cite news |publisher= The Windsor Star |title = Author's imagination stoked by Lake Erie tales |website = Canada.com |date = November 24, 2008 |url = http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=23d49fb1-6607-4bc3-b282-5c69a645659d |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120825222336/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=23d49fb1-6607-4bc3-b282-5c69a645659d |url-status = dead |archive-date = August 25, 2012 |access-date = January 26, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX312c">{{cite news | author = Margaret Atwood | title = On Lake Erie's demise | newspaper = The Star | quote = Also, the western end of Lake Erie is the thunderstorm capital of Canada – the lightning displays are breathtaking, the winds can hit gale force, and, due to the lake's shallowness, the waves build very quickly. | date = January 19, 2008 | url = https://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/294693 | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = October 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111016195000/http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/294693 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX411">{{cite news | author = Tatiana Morales | title = Dramatic Lake Erie Rescue | publisher = CBS News | date = July 19, 2004 | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dramatic-lake-erie-rescue/ | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = January 28, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110128230411/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/19/earlyshow/living/main630462.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="EPA Basic">[http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/basicinfo.html#erie Great Lakes; Basic Information: Lake Erie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201211425/http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/basicinfo.html#erie |date=December 1, 2012 }}. ''U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.''</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY112">{{cite news | author = Cicely A. Richard | title = Fishing Lakes in Pennsylvania | newspaper = USA Today | quote = Lake Erie, one of North America's Great Lakes, offers more than 470,000 acres of surface water. | date = January 25, 2010 | url = http://traveltips.usatoday.com/fishing-lakes-pennsylvania-17655.html | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = March 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110316143007/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/fishing-lakes-pennsylvania-17655.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX215cc">{{cite news | title = Environment: Comeback for the Great Lakes | magazine = Time magazine | quote = The lakes contain 95% of the U.S. supply of fresh water in lakes and reservoirs and 20% of the world's; they supply drinking water for 23.5&nbsp;million Americans. | date = December 3, 1979 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948661,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080408152157/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948661,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 8, 2008 | access-date = January 24, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="COE-2009">Monthly bulletin of Lake Levels for The Great Lakes; September 2009; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District</ref>
<ref name="twsZ16">{{cite news | title = The lake erie hero.; a statue to commodore perry unveiled at newport. | newspaper = The New York Times | year = 1884 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E11F93A5D10738DDDA80994D1405B8584F0D3 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024021/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E11F93A5D10738DDDA80994D1405B8584F0D3 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ21bb">{{cite news | title = League of Nations Monument on Lake Erie | newspaper = The New York Times | date = May 11, 1919 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5081EFC3D5E157A93C3A8178ED85F4D8185F9 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024027/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5081EFC3D5E157A93C3A8178ED85F4D8185F9 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX14b">{{cite news | author = John Flesher, Associated Press | title = Asian carp create nagging fear in Lake Erie towns | newspaper = USA Today | date = November 26, 2010 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-11-26-asian-carp_N.htm | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = November 30, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101130050728/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-11-26-asian-carp_N.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ15">{{cite news | title = Railways Round Lake Erie | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 21, 1852 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B12FD3955147B93C3AB178BD95F468584F9 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024034/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B12FD3955147B93C3AB178BD95F468584F9 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ17">{{cite news | title = Navigation on Lake Erie | newspaper = The New York Times | date = April 14, 1852 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F11F63855177493C6A8178FD85F468584F9 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024040/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F11F63855177493C6A8178FD85F468584F9 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ24">{{cite news | author = Adam Radwanski | title = An ill wind on Lake Erie | newspaper = The Globe and Mail | date = September 6, 2010 | url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/adam-radwanski/an-ill-wind-on-lake-erie/article1697544/ | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = January 29, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110129125915/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/adam-radwanski/an-ill-wind-on-lake-erie/article1697544/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ56">{{cite news |publisher=The Windsor Star |title=Province kills lake wind farm |website=Canada.com |date=October 4, 2006 |url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=0f24492c-75be-46f9-a24d-ea18e1a31d9e |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828054955/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=0f24492c-75be-46f9-a24d-ea18e1a31d9e |archive-date=August 28, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ55">{{cite news |title = No turbines in Lake Erie: Council |newspaper = The Windsor Star |date = January 25, 2011 |url = http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=7ab955af-5c44-4bea-aa5f-37d8f312c26a |access-date = January 26, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120822012640/http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=7ab955af-5c44-4bea-aa5f-37d8f312c26a |archive-date = August 22, 2012 |df = mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ27">{{cite news|author=Dylan Kristy |title=Lake Erie soaring to record-breaking temperatures |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=August 17, 2010 |url=https://vancouversun.com/technology/Lake+Erie+soaring+record+breaking+temperatures/3409194/story.html |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921000007/http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Lake%2BErie%2Bsoaring%2Brecord%2Bbreaking%2Btemperatures/3409194/story.html |archive-date=September 21, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ">{{cite news |author = Sharon Hill |title = Heaps of decaying smelt blanket Lake Erie shore |newspaper = The Windsor Star |date = May 27, 2010 |url = http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=acf7937c-d4c2-48ad-8380-225d058bde41 |access-date = January 26, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120823082428/http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=acf7937c-d4c2-48ad-8380-225d058bde41 |archive-date = August 23, 2012 |df = mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ45">{{cite news |title=Bloody-red shrimp invades Great Lakes: The newest invader swarming in the Great Lakes is the bloody-red shrimp and they're bloody likely to have a negative impact. |publisher=Canada.com |date=January 24, 2008 |url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=767745f9-c160-4a0f-8ea0-cc8c2a037d59&k=64512 |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118200028/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=767745f9-c160-4a0f-8ea0-cc8c2a037d59&k=64512 |archive-date=January 18, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ28a">{{cite news |title=Lake Erie undergoing 'huge' ecological changes |publisher=Canada.com |date=April 28, 2008 |url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=c93bc013-1130-45fd-bd28-976a43b6374c&k=3267 |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822212113/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=c93bc013-1130-45fd-bd28-976a43b6374c&k=3267 |archive-date=August 22, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ61">{{cite magazine |author = Nancy Macdonald |title = Canada's sickest lake |magazine = Maclean's  |date = August 20, 2009 |url = http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/20/canada%E2%80%99s-sickest-lake/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090824092017/http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/20/canada%E2%80%99s-sickest-lake/ |url-status = dead |archive-date = August 24, 2009 |access-date = January 26, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="NYT031413">{{cite news|title=Spring Rain, Then Foul Algae in Ailing Lake Erie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/earth/algae-blooms-threaten-lake-erie.html|access-date=March 15, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 14, 2013|author=Michael Wines|archive-date=March 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315120454/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/earth/algae-blooms-threaten-lake-erie.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX412a">{{cite news | title = Researchers track Lake Erie algae blooms | newspaper = USA Today | date = September 13, 2007 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-09-13-14954030_x.htm | access-date = January 24, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX414">{{cite news | author = Dan Vergano | title = Enlarged environmental 'dead zone' ripples across Lake Erie | newspaper = USA Today | date = September 24, 2003 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2003-09-24-lake-erie_x.htm | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = July 23, 2004 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040723160042/http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2003-09-24-lake-erie_x.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX12">{{cite news | author = Stephanie Steinberg | title = Lake Erie water snakes grow in numbers, help ecosystem | newspaper = USA Today | date = June 6, 2010 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-06-07-Watersnake07_st_N.htm | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = June 11, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100611014824/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-06-07-Watersnake07_st_N.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX13">{{cite news |title=Lake Erie Watersnake |publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Endangered Species |date=September 14, 2010 |url=http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/reptiles/le-facts.html |access-date=January 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102183230/http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/reptiles/le-facts.html |archive-date=January 2, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX24">{{cite news | author = Don Hopey | title = Swarms of mayflies on wing over Lake Erie | newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date = July 26, 1999 | url = http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/19990726mayfly1.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911112043/https://old.post-gazette.com/healthscience/19990726mayfly1.asp|archive-date=2015-09-11| access-date = January 24, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX37">{{cite news | author = Tribune News Services | title = Mussels Blamed For Mayflies | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = August 15, 1996 | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/08/15/mussels-blamed-for-mayflies/ | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = December 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204134924/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-08-15/news/9608150091_1_zebra-mussel-lake-erie-mussels | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX31">{{cite news | title = 8,000 Lake Erie Water Birds Dead of Botulism, Experts Say | newspaper = The New York Times | date = December 6, 2000 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/06/nyregion/8000-lake-erie-water-birds-dead-of-botulism-experts-say.html | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = May 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130524215516/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/06/nyregion/8000-lake-erie-water-birds-dead-of-botulism-experts-say.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX26">{{cite news | author = Jim robbins | title = Birds Feeding at Lake Erie Die in Botulism Outbreak | work = The New York Times: Science | date = November 19, 2002 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/19/science/birds-feeding-at-lake-erie-die-in-botulism-outbreak.html | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = January 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110116025045/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/19/science/birds-feeding-at-lake-erie-die-in-botulism-outbreak.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY311">{{cite news | author = News services | title = Possible H5N1 bird flu in wild birds near Lake Erie | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = August 15, 2006 | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/08/15/possible-h5n1-bird-flu-in-wild-birds-near-lake-erie/ | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = December 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204123154/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-08-15/news/0608150296_1_mute-swans-bird-flu-asian-h5n1 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ34">{{cite news |title=Giant tropical bird spotted over Lake Erie |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=October 14, 2008 |url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=87e753ac-fb61-42a4-ae89-1b9d7549f427 |access-date=January 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822071623/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=87e753ac-fb61-42a4-ae89-1b9d7549f427 |archive-date=August 22, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ51">{{cite news |author = Chris Lackner |title = A strong desire to be free |newspaper = The Ottawa Citizen |date = August 23, 2006 |url = http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/features/freedom/story.html?id=2c82d713-151f-400f-a852-373026568d09 |access-date = January 26, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120823025429/http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/features/freedom/story.html?id=2c82d713-151f-400f-a852-373026568d09 |archive-date = August 23, 2012 |df = mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ11">{{cite news | title = Severe Gale on Lake Erie | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 5, 1853 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00811FE3A55147B93C7A9178BD95F478584F9 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024046/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00811FE3A55147B93C7A9178BD95F478584F9 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ19">{{cite news | title = Fishing: When thermometer plummets, tactics change on Lake Erie tributaries | newspaper = The New York Times | quote = The Captain of the schooner ''Grace Whitney'' reports passing a sunken vessel off Port Burwell Sunday morning. Three men were clinging to the masthead, but he could render no assistance, owing to the gale and high seas. | date = November 3, 1868 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10716FE3B541B7493C1A9178AD95F4C8684F9 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024051/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10716FE3B541B7493C1A9178AD95F4C8684F9 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY312">{{cite news | title = Perilous Balloon Ascension—The Eronaut in Lake Erie. | newspaper = The New York Times | date = July 23, 1857 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CEFD91238EE3BBC4B51DFB066838C649FDE | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = April 5, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405230622/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CEFD91238EE3BBC4B51DFB066838C649FDE | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ22">{{cite news | title = The wind stirs up lake erie | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 15, 1885 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50617F63E5B10738DDDAC0994D8415B8584F0D3 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024103/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50617F63E5B10738DDDAC0994D8415B8584F0D3 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsZ18">{{cite news | title = NEW HARBOR ON LAKE ERIE?; Report that One Is to be Built at Elk Creek, Penn. | newspaper = The New York Times | date = January 13, 1901 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3081FFC385414728DDDAA0994D9405B818CF1D3 | access-date = January 26, 2011 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024115/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3081FFC385414728DDDAA0994D9405B818CF1D3 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX312a">{{cite news | author = Margaret Atwood | title = On Lake Erie's demise | newspaper = The Star | date = January 19, 2008 | url = https://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/294693 | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = October 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111016195000/http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/294693 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY214a">{{cite news | title = America's Sewage System and the Price of Optimism | magazine = Time magazine | date = August 1, 1969 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901182,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070817171805/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901182,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 17, 2007 | access-date = January 25, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX512">{{cite news | author = Pam belluck | title = In Angler's Freezer Since '62, Fish May Refute 'Extinction' | newspaper = The New York Times | date = March 15, 1999 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/15/us/in-angler-s-freezer-since-62-fish-may-refute-extinction.html | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = May 24, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130524215653/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/15/us/in-angler-s-freezer-since-62-fish-may-refute-extinction.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY313b">{{cite news | author = Bob Swanson and Adrienne Lewis | title = Many ingredients go into lake-effect snow | newspaper = USA Today | date = November 5, 2008 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/graphics/2008-10-29-lake-effect-snow-formation_N.htm | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = January 17, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100117125438/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/graphics/2008-10-29-lake-effect-snow-formation_N.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY313a">{{cite news | author = Bob Swanson and Adrienne Lewis | title = Many ingredients go into lake-effect snow | newspaper = USA Today | quote = How would you like to shovel 10 feet of snow each winter? That's not uncommon for some locations downwind of the Great Lakes, where snowfall averages more than 120 inches annually. | date = November 5, 2008 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/graphics/2008-10-29-lake-effect-snow-formation_N.htm | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = January 17, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100117125438/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/graphics/2008-10-29-lake-effect-snow-formation_N.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY111">{{cite news | author = Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press Writer | title = First snow arrives off Lake Erie, spares Buffalo | newspaper = USA Today | date = November 8, 2007 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/winter/2007-11-06-buffalo-snow_N.htm | access-date = January 25, 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="twsX211">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |title=Freezing of Lake Erie celebrated by those tired of lake-effect snow |publisher=Ohio.com |date=January 25, 2011 |url=http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/114553729.html |access-date=January 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128202531/http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/114553729.html |archive-date=January 28, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Straight Dope">[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlakeeffectsnow.html What's the physics behind "lake effect snow"?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209090407/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2007/whats-the-physics-behind-lake-effect-snow |date=December 9, 2011 }}. ''the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board.''</ref>
<ref name="twsX35">{{cite news | author = Tom Skilling, meteorologist | title = Dear Tom, How often does Lake Michigan freeze over ... | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = November 13, 2002 | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/11/13/dear-tomhow-often-does-lake-michigan-freeze/ | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = December 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204123200/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-13/news/0211130174_1_lake-michigan-lake-erie-great-lakes | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsX36">{{cite news | author = Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist | title = Dear Tom, Does much ice remain on northern Lake ... | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = March 25, 2004 | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/03/25/dear-tomdoes-much-ice-remain-on-northern/ | access-date = January 24, 2011 | archive-date = December 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204141413/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-03-25/news/0403250108_1_lake-erie-lake-michigan-lake-effect-snow | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="twsJanY113">{{cite news | author = The Canadian Press | title = Samsung eyes Lake Erie | newspaper = The Star | date = September 28, 2009 | url = https://www.thestar.com/Business/article/701839 | access-date = January 25, 2010 | archive-date = October 1, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091001173444/http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/701839 | url-status = live }}</ref>
<ref name="GLBathEr">[https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/great-lakes-bathymetry National Geophysical Data Center] , 1999. Bathymetry of Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi:10.7289/V5KS6PHK [access date: March 23, 2015].</ref>
<ref name="GLBathHur">[https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/great-lakes-bathymetry National Geophysical Data Center] , 1999. Bathymetry of Lake Huron. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi:10.7289/V5G15XS5 [access date: March 23, 2015]. (only small portion of this map)</ref>
<ref name="GLBathOnt">[https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/great-lakes-bathymetry National Geophysical Data Center] , 1999. Bathymetry of Lake Ontario. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi:10.7289/V56H4FBH [access date: March 23, 2015]. (only small portion of this map)</ref>
<ref name="GLOBE">National Geophysical Data Center, 1999. [http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/gltiles.html Global Land One-kilometer Base Elevation (GLOBE) v.1.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210142322/http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/gltiles.html |date=February 10, 2011 }} Hastings, D. and P.K. Dunbar. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi:10.7289/V52R3PMS [access date: March 16, 2015].</ref>
<ref name="NOAA_GLERL">{{cite web |url=http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/ourlakes/gl_tour.html |title=About Our Great Lakes: Tour |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) |access-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505021024/http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/ourlakes/gl_tour.html |archive-date=May 5, 2011}} Google Earth Great Lakes Tour [http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/pr_images/tour/GreatLakesTour_Merged.kmz GreatLakesTour_Merged.kmz] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105214620/http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/pr_images/tour/GreatLakesTour_Merged.kmz |date=January 5, 2015}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* Assel, R.A. (1983). ''Lake Erie regional ice cover analysis: preliminary results '' [NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL 48]. Ann Arbor, MI: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Research Laboratories, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
* Saylor, J.H. and G.S. Miller. (1983). ''Investigation of the currents and density structure of Lake Erie'' [NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL GLERL 49]. Ann Arbor, MI: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Research Laboratories, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

==External links==
{{commons category|Lake Erie}}
{{AmCyc Poster|Erie, Lake|Lake Erie}}
* {{osmrelation|4039900}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190619215144/http://www.middlebass2.org/IslandsInLakeErie.PDF How many Islands are there in Lake Erie?]
* [https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes EPA's Great Lakes Atlas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029215637/http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/physfacts.html |date=October 29, 2010 }}
* [https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/nrt_contour/ Great Lakes Coast Watch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321220857/https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/nrt_contour/ |date=March 21, 2023 }}
* [https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/greatlakes/erie.html Lake Erie Bathymetry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321220909/https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/greatlakes/erie.html |date=March 21, 2023 }} – National Geophysical Data Center
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110119163114/http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/trending/archive/2010/12/16/frozen-lighthouse-on-lake-erie-captivates-world-video.aspx Frozen lighthouse video] via ''[[Slate Magazine]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120222214756/http://www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/publications/GS/GS-025ExploretheLakeErieIslandsAGuidetoNatureandHistoryAlongtheLakeErieCoastalTrail.pdf Explore the Lake Erie Islands]
*[http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=LAKE+ERIE+nautical+chart#8/42.216/-81.398 Lake Erie Nautical Chart] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803033901/http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=LAKE+ERIE+nautical+chart#8/42.216/-81.398 |date=August 3, 2020 }}

{{greatlakes|state=collapsed}}
{{Cleveland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lake Erie| ]]
[[Category:Great Lakes|*Erie]]
[[Category:Great Lakes Waterway]]
[[Category:International lakes of North America|Erie]]
[[Category:Lakes of Michigan|Erie]]
[[Category:Lakes of New York (state)|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Lakes of Ohio|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Lakes of Ontario|Erie, Lake]]
[[Category:Lakes of Pennsylvania|Erie]]
[[Category:Erie Canal]]
[[Category:Regions of Ohio]]
[[Category:Saint Lawrence Seaway]]
[[Category:Southwestern Ontario]]
[[Category:Canada–United States border]]