{"id":9177,"date":"2023-10-27T13:05:12","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T12:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/?p=9177"},"modified":"2023-10-27T13:05:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T12:05:12","slug":"how-much-water-does-lake-superior-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/how-much-water-does-lake-superior-hold\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Water Does Lake Superior Hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lake Superior is often recognized as one of the largest and most impressive freshwater lakes in the world. Located in the Northern Hemisphere, it extends some 563 miles along the Canadian and American borders, making it the largest of the Great Lakes. While it may be known for its size and beauty, many wonder, “how much water does Lake Superior hold?”. In this article, we will provide background information on the topic, offer relevant data and perspectives from experts, and offer our own insights and analysis.<\/p>\n

For perspective, Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes in surface area, but it is not the deepest. That distinction belongs to Lake Michigan, which is located to the east. The average surface area of Lake Superior is 31,820 km², with a surface elevation of 183 m. The average volume of the lake is 12,232 km3 and its maximum depth is 406 m. It is also the largest freshwater system by surface area in the world, and the second-largest in volume.<\/p>\n

To gain a better understanding of “how much water does Lake Superior hold?” we can look to the data provided by Environment Canada. According to their records, the lake contains 2,976 cubic kilometers (km³) of water. This is the equivalent of 4.33 trillion Olympic-sized swimming pools. To put this in context, Lake Superior contains 3 times the volume of water in all five Great Lakes combined.<\/p>\n

The data also reveals that the lake discharges an average of 540 cubic meters of water per second. That’s the equivalent of 6,480 Olympic-sized swimming pools discharged every day. The lake also takes up about 12% of the world’s freshwater supply, thus it plays an important role in replenishing the world’s dwindling water sources.<\/p>\n