{"id":2959,"date":"2023-03-14T22:09:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T21:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2023-03-14T22:09:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T21:09:38","slug":"how-was-lake-michigan-formed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/how-was-lake-michigan-formed\/","title":{"rendered":"How was lake michigan formed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. Lake Michigan is the second largest of the Great Lakes by surface area, covering 22,400 square miles (58,000 square kilometers). It is the third largest by volume, holding 1,180 cubic miles (4,900 cubic kilometers) of water. Lake Michigan is faintly salty with a total dissolved solid concentration of about 180 parts per million.<\/p>\n

Lake Michigan was formed when glaciers melted and the resulting water filled the basins they had carved out.<\/p>\n

Is Lake Michigan a man-made lake? <\/h2>\n

Lake Michigan has been managed and operated as a man-made ecosystem for nearly a century now, according to the fisheries biologists in charge of its stewardship. This means that the majority of the organisms in the lake are there because humans have introduced them, and the lake’s ecology has been largely shaped by human activity. While this has had some negative consequences, such as the decline of native fish species, it has also allowed the lake to provide a home for a wide variety of fish and other wildlife that might not otherwise be able to survive in the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n

The water in Lake Michigan is constantly in motion. The water flows into the lake from rivers, and out of the lake into the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the Straits of Mackinac. The water also circulates within the lake itself. The water is fresh and clean, and supports a large and diverse ecosystem.<\/p>\n

What is at the bottom of Lake Michigan <\/h3>\n