The Great Lakes are my favorite thing about having grown up in Michigan. I wish I could have spent more time enjoying them. People here really take them for granted so I love when people come to appreciate them!

The Great Lakes border _eight_ states! (As well as some unknown landmass to the north)

I come from Singapore, a tiny island with water supply so limited we have to buy it from neighbouring countries. When I visited America, I saw the great lakes on the ground and over air, it took over an hour to fly over Lake Michigan. I was in awe at how vast the lakes are, in fact they are 339.4 times larger in area than Singapore.

I've flown a couple of times over some parts of these magnificent lakes, and they really look like an ocean from above. The first time I flew from New York to Toronto and when we were flying over Lake Ontario, I really thought we were flowing above Atlantic Ocean. These lakes are fantastic!

It borders 8 states in America but 1 province in Canada.

As a Michigan born citizen, when I talk about my state this is one of my favorites to flex. Protect the Great Lakes, everyone should be as proud of them as I am! I'm Smitten by the Mitten!

A few years ago BP wanted to dump twice as much as they had been into Lake Michigan, but were prevented by people who cared. Water will become a very precious resource and we should treat it as such.

It also makes Michigan look cool

I'm looking out my bedroom window at Lake Ontario right now. I'm so happy that I have the honour of living this close to one of the world's great natural resources. Though they border 8 states, they border only one Canadian province: Ontario.

I grew up in the chicago area, and as a child I would frequently find ancient rocks and pebbles with fossilized creatures on them in my backyard and parks with forests. The great lakes and surrounding areas are truly magical and ancient

my teacher sent me a link to this but the thing is.... I actually watch them on my free time

you forgot to mention the great lakes are a great graveyard too, with about 6,000 ships and about 30,000 bodies, many of whom were never recovered.

I grew up on the shores of the Great Lakes. As a large body of water, we regard it as a living thing. It has 'moods' and effects the land mass surrounding it - You've never been snowed on until you've experienced a 'Lake Effect' snowstorm! It's deep, and heavy with moisture as storms roll over the water, and it creates massive amounts of snow!! When the winds from the north blow in, it creates humongous ice floes onshore, and can blow smaller icey structure - like masses onto the shore, too! The lakes are never still or quiet, they're always moving, creating waves and tides, and changing colors as the day goes by ... it's amazing to watch! Lakes can be onerous, too. Creating hidden undertows that snatch unsuspecting swimmers near shore, depositing them far off, out of their depth, and in drowning territory! We always, sadly, lose people throughout the summer season! The Great Lakes are magical, and alive with life. But they're a place deserving respect, and a bit of awe, too!

Love the Great Lakes. I have lived in Detroit which is the strait between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. In fact the name "Detroit" means "The Straits" in French. It is one of the world's busiest waterways. Surprisingly beautiful with a wonderful huge park, Belle Isle, right in the middle of the river (excuse me - the strait). I have lived on the Niagara River just a short bike ride from Lake Ontario. On a clear day you can catch glimpses of Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario shimmering over the Lake. What a beautiful area with the Falls and the Niagara gorge. So dramatic, it is a religious experience to watch the the water going over the Falls. Now in my retirement, we have a place on Lake Huron in Michigan's Thumb. It is makes me come alive to be there. The fresh water has a special smell to it that is well - Fresh! I have a great bumper sticker that reads "THE GREAT LAKES - UNSALTED AND SHARK FREE." I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

As a Michigander, this is my favorite TED-Ed ever.

*What's so Great about Great Britain?*

A good portion of Superior was formed during the Keweenaw rift (a.k.a. "the mid continental rift"), not by glaciers. Also, the bedrock underneath Superior is still "rebounding" from the weight of the glacier being gone. It's rebounding faster there than in the south. So, the waters of Superior are draining into Huron and the rest of the system faster each day. Until a few thousands (or 10 of thousands) of years from now, when that bedrock slips hard and rattles the entire midwest (possibly creating some new lakes and rivers). Worse case scenario, the rift starts opening again and finishes its job of tearing the continent in half! At least we won't be around to see it ...hopefully!

I am originally from MN and there is almost no industry or farming along Lake Superior, and knowing that part of Canada and WI I imagine the same. This is why the water in Lake Superior is so clean home owners that I know pull their drinking water right from the lake and only do a very minimal amount of filtration. As they put it, “removing the sticks and leaves.”

One correction: water also enters the lower 4 Great Lakes from their surrounding lands, not just from Lake Superior.

I learn much from this channel

I remember in the early days of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? they asked, "What is the largest Great Lake?" The contestant said Superior when they were looking for Huron. The judges had to come in and admit that as vaguely as the question was worded, either answer was correct. The game carried into another episode.

When I was a kid went to Chicago all the time thinking Lake Michigan was apart of the ocean

I grew up right next to Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago. Using that lake as my guide strengthened my sense of direction to this very day and that sense helps me anywhere I am in the world!

How do you target the US with this video yet use the metric system?

I’m Northern Ohio and have made many trips to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. Absolutely incredible that there are MASSIVE sand dunes in the middle of the American Midwest!

Sleeping Bear Dunes is a seriously awesome place. Stood exactly where that image was taken and I gotta say, it is a shit ton steeper than it looks. Some morons even go all the way to the bottom to see the lake and have to climb all the way back up, taking an hour or more. I go to Glen Arbor every year in the summer so I always go to see the national park, it is really amazing and you guys should go. Glen Lake also exists and has some of the bluest water ever, trust me. I'm done rambling now so enjoy the rest of the video lol

So Lake Superior contains 10% of the worlds fresh surface water?

I can only imagine how much cleaner the lakes were back then in the 1600's and earlier

Hey TED-ED- there's a land mass called Canada up north that is around 4 of the 5 lakes in case you didn't know

I think they should've included Canada, however the information presented is very good. Any decent human being will know that borders only exist in the human mind, so when talking about science, borders should not matter.

All the lakes are amazing and unique in their own ways, but Superior and Huron are my two favorites!

Ppl are disappointed that Canada wasn't mentioned but us in Michigan basically consider all the lakes ours and forget about the other states

This video made me realize that one day I will have to go there and get to know such beautiful places

This is written in December 2021. Lake Ontario used to face a 'flood' once about every 10 years. Flood means that the lake's surface level would come up about 1.5metres (approx. 5ft) in the early Spring months (after the snow has melted and the first rains have ended). At our sailing club this 'flood' would cause significant damage as water would make it up the banks and into the various club house facilities. . . When I joined the club, some 18 years ago, they had just had one of these 'flood' events (lasted for well over a month). When the next flood event occurred some 10 years later, it looked liked a normal 10 year cycle, but then it occurred again the following year and again the following years. It now has happened so many times in the last few years that it feels like it is more the norm than a 10 year cycle. We have already invested large amounts of money moving our facilities to accommodate the new norm. . I never took climate change for granted, until I started seeing some physical proof that something has serious changed. Keep something in mind: those facilities that are being damaged are buildings that are literally over 100 years old. They never had a serious flood problem for over 100 years.... until now. . If you think this is just a small 'club facility' issue, think again. Lake Ontario's water level is carefully managed by a sort of dam/lock system located in Cornwall Ontario (look it up on Google earth). That lock system is what raises the water level of Lake Ontario (and damages our 100 year old facilities). However if it were not for the lock system holding back the waters, the combination of the Lake Ontario floods and the Ottawa River floods, the city of Montreal would be flooded every year. . How many people in Montreal are aware that their city is being saved just about every year now from full blown climate change flood.

Chicago girl here. When you visit the beaches along Lake Michigan, it’s so massive that it looks like an ocean. You can’t see the end of it. I feel super blessed to have grown up near such a beautiful body of water ❤

I live on the canadian side of lake erie, actually on the lake its in my backyard and the water levels are so high they're eating the beach and from where you used to be able to fit multiple trucks through, now you can't even walk through without going in the water

"whats so great about the great lakes?' It makes michigan AWESOME!

I love how much they talked about Canada, given that 4/5 of them border it.

Woot woot! Like if you live on one of the Great Lakes! I live in Ludington, Michigan, on Lake Michigan:)

A fly by these lakes would almost give the illusion that you were flying above open oceans.

When you live in Michigan and realize you should be happy that you do.

Once you get caught in a storm on Lake Superior, Then you will know how great these lakes are.

*What’s so great about the Great Lakes?* They are Superior! 😂

"A given drop of water spends on average 200 years in this lake..." How to calculate or figure out this thing, I wonder?

I’m glad I live in Michigan, It’s my home, And I love it. Visiting holland to swim in the lake is so much fun.

What's great is that I can walk out onto the beach and have my own fresh water ocean with no danger from jellyfish, eels, sharks, riptides ect. Btw I can see the bay I live near ;).

Lake Michigan apparently has a Bermuda triangle! It even has more reported disappearances than the Bermuda Triangle. Look it up, it's called the Lake Michigan Triangle

As an Ohioan, I learned that sturgeon used to be so abundant that they were used as fertilizer. Now they are extinct in lake Erie. Such a shame as they could be harvested for much more than plant fertilizer, but also be an important part of the ecosystem.

Wow! One mention Canada in a 5 minute video of the Great Lakes. Thanks.

I respect the animator making the swarm of fish and birds fill my screen

Excellent informative quick overview of The Great Lakes. To continue from the excellent previous post…the lakes spanning 8 states and the random unknown unpopulated forest covered area…Find it quite interesting that video offers size of The Great Lakes in kilometres (aka clicks) not in miles

Now I want to visit the Great Lakes!

All this time I thought the Great Barrier Reef was a lake I'm such a jerk

for a sec I thought this was minute earth

I live a stone's throw from the Saint Mary's River (Canada side) which connects Lake Superior and lake Huron. Lake Superior is so big that large sections can not freeze in the winter and it can not warm up enough to swim in during the summer unless your in shallow bays.

just moved to chicago from california but this great lakes region is growing on me. CA is a special place but this region is very special too

"They border eight states and..." Hey, Don't forget about Ontario!

I've been to or in all of them except Ontario. I'm really proud to be from such a wonderful state

I'm researching for science project right now about the great lakes and your video is the most helpful video I ever found

I've always considered myself very lucky to live in the great lakes region.

I'm supposed to be asleep but... I need to know what makes greatness. 😋

Superior was not carved by glacial basins like the other lakes - but is instead a deep rift valley - the Mesoproterozoic rift valley.

This felt like watching those pre recorded guides on tours

Navigable waters into the heart of North America's river systems for early explorers; navigable for ships to open up the Canadian west for exportable agriculture and hence settlement; navigable for coal to power emergent industrial powerhouses around them; awesome regulators of temperature and humidity for southern Ontario and neighbouring states, though with some winter snowfall downsides mainly on the southern shores; plus useful to add a localized naval component to early US/British wars, so fun.

You forgot about them wanting to pipe and drain the great lakes of their water and sending it all west where they were stupid enough to waste all of theirs.

I freaking live there, that's what's great about it.

I live by Ontario which never freezes and 5-10 minutes away and Erie is 15-30 minutes away. Niagara Falls is 15 minutes from me.

The funny thing about Lake Michigan and Lake Huron is because of the way the light hits them, each one will look as though it's a different shade of blue when you cross the bridge. It reminds me of that Simpsons episode where the border of Springfield and Shelbyville shows they have different colored grass on either side.

I always assumed it is the area :P

"They border 8 states" Ummm...they also border a province. Can't talk about great lakes without Canada folks!

3:51 Winter 2014/15 a polar vortex stopped over the great lakes region and froze all 5 basically "resetting" the lake temperature's and levels. Lake Superior is 4 inches above normal and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is flooding. Detroit, Milwaukee and Cleveland are losing populations. There is no population explosion putting a burden on this region. Maybe in 200 years but as of now much of the Great Lakes region is isolated, remote and in great shape.

2:17 I hope there are some mandrakes handy for those trees.

Why does Flint, Michigan STILL not have fresh water?

I have only been in 3 of the Great Lakes: Michigan, Huron, and (maybe) Erie. I want to go to Superior and Ontario!!

great video, I'm lucky enough to live 25 minutes from Lake Ontario, 1 hr from Lake Erie and 2hrs from Lake Huron. One of the greatest attributes to the great lakes is that they play an enormous role in moderating the winter temperatures and act similar to an ocean coast. It would be much much colder in the winters without the great lakes warming the region. In the winter it's often a difference of 5C (10F) from the coast of Lake Ontario to my home which is only a 25 minute drive going an average of 60 km/hr! If it's -5C (22F) at my house, it will often be 0C (32F) a 25 min drive to Lake Ontario!

why did you name all the states but not the provinces that border the great lakes?

I love the great lakes mostly lake ontario cause i live in hamlin New York State and for some reason proud to live right down the street from it

My sister lives in Michigan City, Indiana. The city and the lake are amazing sights to behold.

Living here, about a kilometre north of the shore of Lake Ontario, one forgets about them once in a while. Oddly enough, it means that our climate in Toronto is more comparable to Washington DC than to Chicago or Milwaukee (due West of us). When we go down to the shores of these lakes, one is struck by the absolute massiveness of them. Bearing in mind that Lake Ontario is the littlest. Huron, Michigan and Superior are huge!!!!

4:15 US takes over part of Quebec

Answer to the title: Everything. I would know I live near one

agreed, it is odd that the location of the G. Lakes was not properly mentioned. I also thought not enough information was dedicated to the creation of these lakes.

This is done nicely and my seven year old loved watching it. Well done and thank you.

I live in wisconsin

We should form The Republic of The Great Lakes. (All great lakes states and Ontario.) We would honestly be a pretty powerful country.

My hometown Thunder Bay lives on top of Lake Superior it’s an important railway hub for grain in Canada, yet for some reason we don’t get passenger trains.

Mermerised by the music that plays in the background, any way I can get it?

Why is everything so isolated US-centric? A proper educational video is not limited by borders, even an amateur scientist can cover fairly the role/relationship of these lakes in Canada (or remove the nation's entirely, and talk about North America!). Very disappointing.

For someone who's born and live in the Midwest, seeing the great lakes is the closest thing to the ocean.

The water levels in Lakemichigan are the highest I have seen my whole life

As a michigander I have never once heard anybody call the great lakes the Inland Seas

Just remember that Canada holds nearly 25% of all fresh water on the planet.

They must be guarded and preserved!

THE LEGEND OF THE SLEEPING BEAR Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Long ago a great famine had spread over the land. Longingly, a mother bear and two famished cubs walked the shore on the Wisconsin side, gazing wistfully across the great lake at Michigan, which in those days was the land of plenty (as it is today). Finally hunger overcame their timidness and the bears launched out, trying to swim to Michigan. As they got closer and closer to the Michigan shore, the mother's words of encouragement urged on the weary cubs. When only twelve miles from the land of plenty, the mother's heart was rent as she saw a babe sink and drown. With the remaining cub she struggled to gain the beach. Two miles of slow dragging and the second of her beloved cubs also perished. The mother reached the beach, alone, and crept to a resting place where she lay down facing the restless waters that covered her lost ones. As she gazed, two beautiful islands slowly rose to mark the graves of the cubs. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands (North and South Manitou Islands) to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.

My ship passed thru st.Lawrence river, great lakes and I didn't even know the importance.

Hey,radom people scrolling down the comments.hello,have a good day

I TELL YOU THEY ARE A PERFECT PLACE FOR A BASE DURING THE ZAMBIE APOCALYPSE!!!!!

the largest ship ever to sink in fresh water was on Lake superior on November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald, fell prey to a gnarly snow storm, and lake superior was so big that it took three days just to find it!

Excellent video.

Who else is from michigan!