Are the Great Lakes actually seas?

[Mikemikemike]

I live along Lake Michigan... I have had several friends from out of the state of Michigan that have been absolutely dumbfounded by its magnitude and the sheer fact that it's not possible to see Wisconsin on the other side. To people that have not visited the Great Lakes... they visually look like oceans.

[Mentally_Will]

Working as a tour guide in Chicago, I encountered a LOT of tourists who straight up refused to believe Lake Michigan was a lake.

[MotownGuitarJoe]

Whatever you call them, know this: they can easily kill you, no matter how large a boat/ship you're on.

[PagsPayback]

I hate to be the one telling you this... But the Caspian Sea, despite its name, is actually a lake.

[freshwatervibe]

“They are sea like lakes that sometimes act like the ocean”

[autumnryn]

They are beasts and MUST be respected. It is always ice cold. In the fall, the Coast Guard is shut down. These guys went kayaking and came up to this rocky cliff and were bashed against the rocks. All you could do was stand there and listen to the screams for help. It was too dangerous to try and help with the size of these waves. The most helpless feeling I've ever felt... they did not make it. Please respect these beautiful monsters. Land locked means nothing when rivers connect everyone to the ocean. Always respect bodies of water. Always respect Mother Nature. She will take you out in a snap of your fingers.

[sunnyvasic]

Great lakes also have reefs with rocks and plantation for spawning and sanctuary for breeding fish, and they have lagoons here in lake erie too. It's like an ocean

[zsas]

The Great Lakes aren’t landlocked. They are all connected to each other by rivers that eventually lead to the Atlantic.

[knucklehoagies]

I never understood why we refer to them as lakes. I live in Chicago just blocks away from Lake Michigan and it literally looks like an ocean. The water is even blue, there are literal beaches with sand and everythinf.... when i think "lake" i think of murky green water thats small enough to where you can see the other side of

[motorcityemt]

If the Great Lakes were actually land locked, we wouldn't have salt water ships travelling through, which we do...

[LeviThePilot]

Things You Probably Never Knew About The Great
1. Lake Superior is actually not a lake at all, but an inland sea .
2. All of the four other Great Lakes, plus three more the size of Lake Erie, would fit inside of Lake Superior.
3. Isle Royale is a massive island surrounded by Lake Superior. Within this island are several smaller lakes. Yes, that’s a lake on a lake.
4. Despite its massive size, Lake Superior is an extremely young formation by Earth’s standards (only 10, 000 years old).
5. There is enough water in Lake Superior to submerge all of North and South America in 1 foot of water.
6. Lake Superior contains 3 quadrillion gallons of water (3, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000). All five of the Great Lakes combined contain 6 quadrillion gallons.
7. Contained within Lake Superior is a whopping 10% of the world’s fresh surface water.
8. It’s estimated there are about 100 million lake trout in Lake Superior. That’s nearly one-fifth of the human population of North America!
9. There are small outlets through which water leaves Lake Superior. It takes two centuries for all the water in the lake to replace itself.
10. Lake Erie is the fourth-largest Great Lake in surface area, and the smallest in depth. It’s the 11th largest lake on the planet.
11. There is alleged to be a 30- to 40-foot-long “monster” in Lake Erie named Bessie. The earliest recorded sighting goes back as early as 1793.
12. Water in Lake Erie replaces itself in only 2.6 years, which is notable considering the water in Lake Superior takes two centuries.
13. The original publication of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax contained the line, “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.”
Fourteen years later, the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss to make the case that conditions had improved. He removed the line.
14. Not only is lake Erie the smallest Great Lake when it comes to volume, but it’s surrounded by the most industry.
Seventeen metropolitan areas, each with populations of more than 50, 000, border the Lake Erie basin.
15. During the War of 1812, the U.S. beat the British in a naval battle called
the Battle of Lake Erie, forcing them to abandon Detroit.
16. The shoreline of all the Great Lakes combined equals nearly 44% of the circumference of the planet.
17. If not for the the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron might be considered one lake.
Hydrologically speaking, they have the same mean water level and are considered one lake.
18. The Keystone State was one of the largest and most luxurious wooden steamships running during the Civil War.
In 1861, it disappeared. In 2013, it was found 30 miles northeast of Harrisville under 175 feet of water.
19. Goderich Mine is the largest salt mine in the world. Part of it runs underneath Lake Huron, more than 500 meters underground.
20. Below Lake Huron, there are 9, 000-year-old animal-herding structures used by prehistoric people from when the water levels were significantly lower.
21. There are massive sinkholes in Lake Huron that have high amounts of sulfur and low amounts of oxygen, almost replicating the conditions of Earth’s ancient oceans 3 million years ago. Unique ecosystems are contained within them.
22. Lake Huron is the second largest among the Great Lakes, and the fifth largest in the world.
23. In size, Lake Michigan ranks third among the Great Lakes, and sixth among all freshwater lakes in the world.
24. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is entirely within the borders of the United States.
25. The largest fresh water sand dunes in the world line the shores of Lake Michigan.
26. Because water enters and exits Lake Michigan through the same path, it takes 77 years longer for the water to replace itself than in Huron, despite their similarity in size and depth. (Lake Michigan: 99 years, Lake Huron: 22 years)
27. When the temperature of Lake Michigan is below freezing, this happens.
28. Within Lake Michigan there is a “triangle” with a similar reputation to the Bermuda Triangle, where a large amount of “strange disappearances” have occurred. There have also been alleged UFO sightings.
29. Singapore, Mich., is a ghost town on the shores of Lake Michigan that was buried under sand in 1871. Because of severe weather conditions and a lack of resources due to the need to rebuild after the great Chicago fire, the town was lost completely.
30. In the mid-19th century, Lake Michigan had a pirate problem. Their booty: timber. In fact, the demise of Singapore is due in large part to the rapidly deforested area surrounding the town.
31. Jim Dreyer swam across Lake Michigan in 1998 (65 miles), and then in 2003, he swam the length of Lake Michigan (422 miles).
32. Lake Michigan was the location of the first recorded “Big Great Lakes disaster, ” in which a steamer carrying 600 people collided with a schooner delivering timber to Chicago. Four hundred and fifty people died.
33. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes in surface area, and second smallest in depth. It’s the 14th largest lake on the planet.
34. The province Ontario was named after the lake, and not vice versa.
35. In 1804, a Canadian warship, His Majesty’s Ship Speedy, sank in Lake Ontario. In 1990, wreck hunter Ed Burtt managed to find it.
Only, he isn’t allowed to recover any artifacts until a government-approved site to exhibit them is found. He’s still waiting.
36. Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run at Hanlan’s Point Stadium in Toronto. It landed in Lake Ontario and is believed to still be there.
37. A lake on Saturn’s moon Titan is named after Lake Ontario.

[indigo]

I think what makes them lakes and not seas is that water only flows FROM the lakes TO the ocean. In the case of a sea like the Baltic Sea, water can flow both directions. In the case of the Caspian Sea, it doesn’t connect to the ocean, but if it did, water would flow FROM the ocean TO the Caspian Sea, the reverse of the Great Lakes, because the Caspian is below sea level. So I think the Great Lakes are lakes because they connect to the ocean in a way that only lakes can because they are above sea level.

[gmboutdoors]

I grew up along Lake Michigan. My girlfriend is from Pennsylvania, and had never seen the Great Lakes before I took her home. She was flabbergasted at the size of the lakes and how they behaved almost exactly like oceans.

[Detroit_Eggy]

The Great Lakes also strongly influence climate.

[ShortHungryMexican]

I found out recently that the great lakes aren't actually land locked, the St. Lawrence River connects them to the ocean

[RescueDogFam]

YES, The Great Lakes are seas. You need Sea Worthy equipment in order to traverse them. The cute Kayak that can be used at a small campground lake is NOT the same equipment that can be used on a Great Lake.

So far, I've visited 3 of the Lakes: Erie, Huron, and Michigan. And all of them are powerful bodies of water that should be treated with caution. Riptide currents are no joke and do kill people every year.

[richardtyler]

I live on Lake Michigan on the west Michigan coast. We are proud of our Great Lakes and want to protect them. While they are as large as seas, they don’t feel like one. It feels like a giant lake. I’m never worried about what creatures live in them, we don’t have massive tide changes, they just feel safer to me. That’s not to say they aren’t incredibly dangerous though. Rip tides and undertows are the biggest threat to swimmers. Waves can get enormous during storms, 20ft+, the height of the lakes changes a ton year to year. A lot of homes where I live have had to build emergency sea walls in the last few years just to save their house!

[The_Original_Rtxyz]

I used to live in Chicago and once my friend invited me to the space museum and when we were at the food court that overlooks Lake Michigan, some kid said “Wow it’s the ocean” I literally burst out laughing

[Howl]

I live in the Upper peninsula in a town where it’s normal to see those giant freighters just floating through the space between our mainland town and the island across from us. Driving across the mackinaw bridge quickly let’s you get a feeling as to how vast the Great Lakes are.

[cloudyo]

Yeah it's fun having to tell people that our lake has riptides too. They always think they can mess around but many find out.