An International Treasure Worth Protecting: Great Facts about the Great Lakes

For those of us who live in Canada and the United States, it's easy to forget that almost 20 percent of the world's fresh water lies within our boundaries, in five of the world's largest lakes-the Great Lakes. Consider some of the great reasons to restore and protect the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem:

• The lakes cover 95,000 square miles or 245,759 square kilometers in area and have a shoreline of 10,210 miles or 17,017 kilometers.
• They hold 22,809 cubic kilometers or 5,500 cubic miles of water, but less than one percent of the water is renewed annually by precipitation, surface water runoff and inflow from groundwater surfaces.
• More than 350 species of fish call the lakes their home, as well as 3,500 species of plants and animals.
• The region is home for 37 million Canadians and Americans, and more than 40 million people get their drinking water each day from the Great Lakes drainage basin.
• Every day, 56 billion gallons of water are used from the Great Lakes for municipal, agricultural or industrial uses.
• More than 250 million tons of cargo is shipped on the Great Lakes annually, primarily iron ore, coal and grain. The shipping industry brings $3 billion to the region each year, provides jobs for 60,000 Americans and Canadians, and uses the primary transportation route in eastern North America.
• Approximately 40 million pounds of fish are harvested each year, through commercial and sport fishing, which contributes more than $3.5 billion to the region's economy.
• Thirty percent of all U.S. and more than 25 percent of Canadian agricultural production occurs in the Great Lakes region. One-third of the basin's land is used for agriculture, primarily for corn, soybeans, and livestock such as cattle and hogs. The lakes also provide climate niches where specialty crops can be produced, including cherries, blueberries, grapes, and nursery plants. And with much of the shoreline tree-covered, the forestry and pulp and paper industries are staples of the region's economy.
• Tourism revenue continues to increase annually from hunters ($2.6 billion), recreational boaters ($2 billion), anglers ($2.5 billion), and the more than 70 million people who visits the region's 10 national parks and hundreds of state and provincial parks.
• Only one percent of the Great Lakes' water actually flows out of the system each year. Because of this, water will stay in Lake Superior for up to 191 years, 99 years in Lake Michigan, 22 in Lake Huron, 6 in Lake Ontario, and 2.6 years in Lake Erie. This means that pollution can stay in the lakes' waters for many generations.