Great Lakes Quiz: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario

This Great Lakes quiz explores North America's inland seas, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, with questions on Niagara Falls, Chicago, the Straits of Mackinac and the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Ten questions, 90 seconds.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Basics
How many Great Lakes are there?
Size
Which Great Lake is the largest?
Borders
Which is the only one of the five Great Lakes that does not touch Canada?
Landmarks
Which famous waterfall lies on the river between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario?
Size
Which is the smallest Great Lake by surface area?
Depth
Which Great Lake is the shallowest?
Cities
Which major U.S. city lies on the shore of Lake Michigan?
Water
About what share of the world's fresh surface water do the Great Lakes hold?
Shipwrecks
Which freighter sank in a storm on Lake Superior in November 1975?
Geography
Lakes Michigan and Huron are connected by which waterway, making them hydrologically one lake?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: How many Great Lakes are there?
Answer: 5
The five Great Lakes are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. A popular memory trick uses the word HOMES to remember them.
Q2: Which Great Lake is the largest?
Answer: Superior
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, at about 82,000 square kilometers. It holds enough water to cover North and South America about 30 centimeters deep.
Q3: Which is the only one of the five Great Lakes that does not touch Canada?
Answer: Michigan
Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake completely inside the U.S. The other four are shared with Canada.
Q4: Which famous waterfall lies on the river between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario?
Answer: Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is made up of three waterfalls on the Niagara River, on the border of New York and Ontario. Ships bypass it using the Welland Canal.
Q5: Which is the smallest Great Lake by surface area?
Answer: Ontario
Lake Ontario has the smallest surface area, but it is much deeper than Lake Erie, so it holds more water. Toronto lies on its northern shore.
Q6: Which Great Lake is the shallowest?
Answer: Erie
Lake Erie averages only about 19 meters deep, which makes it the warmest Great Lake in summer and the one most likely to freeze over in winter.
Q7: Which major U.S. city lies on the shore of Lake Michigan?
Answer: Chicago
Chicago grew rapidly in the 1800s because of its port on Lake Michigan and its canal link to the Mississippi River. Detroit sits on the Detroit River and Cleveland on Lake Erie.
Q8: About what share of the world's fresh surface water do the Great Lakes hold?
Answer: About 20%
The Great Lakes hold around 21 percent of the world's fresh surface water and supply drinking water to more than 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada.
Q9: Which freighter sank in a storm on Lake Superior in November 1975?
Answer: SS Edmund Fitzgerald
All 29 crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald died when the ship went down. Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot wrote a famous song about the disaster the following year.
Q10: Lakes Michigan and Huron are connected by which waterway, making them hydrologically one lake?
Answer: Straits of Mackinac
Because the Straits of Mackinac are so wide and deep, the two lakes share the same water level. Together they would form the largest freshwater lake in the world by area.

Great Lakes Quiz – North America's Inland Seas

The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. Stretching across the border between the United States and Canada, they cover about 244,000 square kilometers, more than the area of the United Kingdom. They are so large that they have tides, shipping lanes, lighthouses and storms with waves more than 6 meters high.

The lakes were carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age, which ended about 10,000 years ago. As the ice melted, it filled deep basins with water. Today, the lakes drain east through the Saint Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean, passing over Niagara Falls on the way.

The lakes have shaped the history of North America. Indigenous peoples traveled them by canoe for thousands of years, French explorers mapped them in the 1600s and industrial cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Toronto grew up along their shores. Freighters still carry iron ore, grain and coal across them.

They also face challenges, from pollution and invasive species to changing water levels. Large clean-up efforts since the 1970s have helped restore many beaches and rivers that were once badly polluted.

This quiz covers the lakes' size, depth, cities, landmarks and history, with an explanation for every answer.

The lakes are also a huge playground. Millions of people visit their sandy beaches, dunes and lighthouses every summer, sail and fish in their waters and drive scenic routes such as the Lake Superior Circle Tour. In winter, frozen bays turn into fishing villages of small ice shanties.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz suits geography students, Midwesterners, boaters and anyone planning a trip to the lakes.

How many Great Lakes there are and how to remember them
Which lake is largest, smallest and shallowest
Which lake lies entirely in the United States
Where Niagara Falls fits into the system
How much of the world's fresh water the lakes hold
The story of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Quick Facts About the Great Lakes

More than 6,000 shipwrecks are thought to lie at the bottom of the Great Lakes.
Lake Superior's deepest point is about 406 meters.
The Great Lakes have more than 35,000 islands.
Lake effect snow can drop huge amounts of snow on cities downwind of the lakes.
The Mackinac Bridge, opened in 1957, links Michigan's two peninsulas.
Isle Royale in Lake Superior is one of the least visited U.S. national parks.