Lake Erie
Named after the Native American Erie tribe, Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the great lakes. It is also one of the world's largest freshwater commercial fisheries and sport fishing destinations.
Buffalonians have always been lucky to have plenty of wind for sailing, while at the same time access to beaches are mostly outside city limits - closest is Woodlawn Beach. There are a number of great beaches within biking distance on the Canadian side (cross at the Peace Bridge and follow the Rails to Trails), and a couple of small beaches have recently sprung up within city limits (Emerald Beach for instance).
In past years, discussions have been in the works to allow water from Lake Erie to be diverted westward, and it was not until 2008 that a Great Lakes Compact was signed to disallow the measure that could have proved tragic to the delicate ecosystem. Although the compact was pushed forward, Lake Erie is still subject to invasive species such as the zebra mussels, grass carp and goby. These new inhabitants wreak havoc on native species' environments.
LENGTH: 241 miles / 388 km
BREADTH: 57 miles / 92 km
AVERAGE DEPTH: 62 ft. / 19 m.
MAXIMUM DEPTH: 210 ft. / 64 m.
VOLUME: 116 cubic miles / 484 cubic km.
WATER SURFACE AREA: 9,910 sq. miles / 25,700 sq. km.
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