Key Facts about Lake Michigan

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About Lake Michigan:

It is the third largest of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one lyingwholly within the United States.
It is the fourth largest freshwater lake and the fifth largest lake in the world ranked by surface area.
The lake is 321 miles (517 km) long (north to south); it has a maximum width of 118 miles (190 km).
Drainage basin area: 45,600 square mi (118,095 square km)
Lake Michigan is connected directly to Lake Huron, into which it drains, through the broad Straits of Mackinac.
- This hydrologic connection through the Straits keeps the water levels of the two lakes in equilibrium, causing them to behave in many ways as though they are one lake.
Water flows into Lake Michigan from several rivers in the 45,600 square mile Lake Michigan drainage basin, including the Fox-Wolf, the Grand, the St. Joseph, and the Kalamazoo rivers, among others.
The lake boasts a variety of natural habitats, including tallgrass prairies, wide savannas, and the world’s largest freshwater sand dunes.
It hosts a wealth of plant and animal species, many of which are rare or endangered (such as the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly and the Dwarf Lake Iris).

Q1: What is a Crater?

A crater is a bowl-shaped depression, or hollowed-out area, produced by the impact of a meteorite, volcanic activity, or an explosion. Craters produced by the collision of a meteorite with Earth (or another planet or moon) are called impact craters.

Source: Scientists confirm there are 40 huge craters at the bottom of Lake Michigan