{"id":9006,"date":"2023-11-15T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/?p=9006"},"modified":"2023-11-15T14:00:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:00:17","slug":"how-did-lake-superior-get-its-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/how-did-lake-superior-get-its-name\/","title":{"rendered":"How Did Lake Superior Get Its Name"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lake Superior is the largest lake in North America by total surface area. It is bordered by Ontario, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is the third largest in the world by size and volume. Surprisingly, the lake has a mysterious past that is deeply linked to Native American history.<\/p>\n

For hundreds of years, the lake was a major trade route, practiced by the Ojibwe, an Anishinaabe tribe from the northern Great Lakes region. They named the lake “Gitchi-Gami” which means “big water” in their language. The early French explorers would rename the lake “Lac Supérieur”, which translates to “Upper Lake” in English, in honor of its position relative to Lake Huron.<\/p>\n

However, the lake is officially named after a French explorer named Pierre Esprit Radisson. Radisson famously travelled the lake in 1660, giving it a new name which eventually evolved into “Superior” in English. It is unclear why he chose to name it in this way, however it is likely due to the lake’s grand size and commanding presence.<\/p>\n

Historians suggest this new name was a sign of colonization as well as an effort by the French to link the North American colonies to Europe. The former French name Lac Supérieur has a similar meaning in French and was likely chosen as a way to signify that the new colony was of a higher ranking than the other colonies in the New World.<\/p>\n