EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

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The Most Superior Lake

Credit & Copyright:  Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
  

Explanation:  It is a brumal day here on the shores of this vast inland freshwater sea.  A lone ship plies the waters and clouds gather to restock the watershed.  This is Lake Superior, one of five Great Lakes straddling Canada and the United States.  Superior is an apt name, for this is the world's largest freshwater lake. "Largest" refers to its vast surface area of 31,700 square miles (82, 170 square kilometers).   It is the world's second largest freshwater lake in terms of volume, the first-place prize given to Russia's Lake Baikal.   By some measures, Lake Superior contains one tenth of the Earth's surface freshwater.   Superior, indeed!