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Home , Body of water, Great Lakes, Great Lakes Basin, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan

OBJECTIVES After participating in this activity, learners will be able to: • identify the Great and the bodies of that connect specific with each other and with the Atlantic • describe the three-dimensional geography of the Great Lakes, including elevations • describe why locks are needed, and how a system works

ACTIVITY SUMMARY and a needs to be raised. Groups of learners work on a single Until the early 1800s, transportation Great and connecting and between the lakes and ocean was very then come together as a class to construct difficult. In 1825, the Erie opened, a simple three-dimensional model of more directly connecting Lakes the Great Lakes. Individual groups also and Erie with the via the present their and connecting Hudson and of . waterway information. In 1829, the was constructed between Lakes Ontario and Erie to provide a shipping around BACKGROUND Falls. (This canal was improved and enlarged several times from 1833 to The surface of is about 1919.) In 1855, the St. Mary’s Falls Ship 600 feet (184 meters) above level. To Canal (popularly known as the ) allow to go from the Atlantic Ocean connecting Lake Superior and Lake (0 feet elevation) to the Great Lakes and back for international trade, the United DIAGRAM 1 States and have constructed a series of locks, channels, and that raise and lower ships to the level of the lakes, , and ocean (Diagram 1). For extreme changes in levels between the Great Lakes, lock systems were developed to raise and lower ships. To lower a ship which is in a lock, water is drained out of the lock. No pumps are needed until the operation is reversed, Huron was enlarged to accommodate • a different Connecting Waterways card large lake-going vessels. Around the late for each group 1800s to early 1900s, a 27-foot-deep • Sea Grant Extension Bulletins navigation canal was dredged through (maps) for the learners to use as Lake St. Clair from the St. Clair River reference materials Delta to the head of the River. The St. Lawrence Seaway was completed in 1959, opening the Great Lakes to medium PROCEDURE sized, international, ocean-going vessels Day One (Diagram 1). 1) Introduce learners to the Great Lakes. Because of this navigation system, Explain to them that they will be doing 80 percent of the world's cargo ships can group projects that will be brought now sail as far west as Lake Superior. together as a class project to form the Almost 200 million tons of international entire Great Lakes system. and interlake cargo are transported through the Great Lakes and St. 2) Divide the class into six groups. Give Lawrence River and Seaway each year. each group a lake shape. (Count Lake Today, St. Clair for the sixth group.) Pass out the main commodities shipped on the markers. Pass out one Great Lakes Great Lakes are ore, , , card and one Connecting Waterways and grain. card to each group. Not all changes as a result of the 3) Allow time for the learners to use navigation system are positive. Opening reference materials (Michigan Sea the Great Lakes system to ships and Grant Extension Bulletins, maps, navigation also opened the system to the books), invasion of exotic species. The arrival and learn more about their lake, and mark impacts of exotic species created changes information on their lake shapes. in the Great Lakes ecosystem, and many of Day Two these changes were negative. Increased 4) Have learners place their lake shapes industrial growth and development also into the proper geographical position led to environmental degradation, and elevation. Pass out one string to , and loss of . each group (Diagram 2). 5) Discuss how move. Explain the concept of locks. MATERIALS 6) Assign each group a connecting • shapes of each of the Great Lakes to waterway to research and put into scale and made of reusable and place. (Provide connecting channel/ markable material (example: laminated poster board with a foam core) DIAGRAM 2 • washable markers (dependent on materials used) • string • tape • materials to support the lake cutouts at various levels (books, Styrofoam® blocks) • a different Great Lakes card for each group waterway card with various questions.) ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION 7) Put blocks into place. • Have learners complete the “Connecting 8) Have the learners present their lake Channels Quiz.” and connecting channel as a group. • Give the learners a blank map of the Each learner in the group can and have them label identify and explain two places on the all the Great Lakes and their connecting map, and answer one connecting channels. (Or have the learners draw channel question. their own map.)

SOURCE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Modified by Jim Lubner, University of Local Contacts Sea Grant Institute; Link, St. Joan of Arc Local Navigation/locks office School, Michigan; and Kimberly Tanton, Detroit Navy Sea Cadet Program—Pride of Michigan, Edison, Michigan. Background material adapted docked on the from The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes and “How do ships get from one U.S. Station—St. Clair lake to another?” in Earth Systems—Education U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary—Algonac Activities for Great Lakes Schools: Great Lakes Shipping. Teaching Materials and References Michigan Sea Grant. Obtain these publications ADAPTATIONS from MSU Bulletin Office, 10B Agriculture Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824 • Have the groups switch cards and do the (http://ceenet.msue.msu/edu/bulletin) activity again. Lake Superior (Bulletin E-1866) • Visit the Detroit or St. Clair River to observe (Bulletin E-1867) freighters. Try to determine what kind of cargo (Bulletin E-1868) they are carrying. Do upstream ships travel (Bulletin E-1869) faster that those traveling downstream? From (Bulletin E-1870) what countries or states do the ships come? Clary, James. 1985. “Ladies of the Lakes.” • Continue the lesson with information on trade Michigan Natural Resources Magazine. and/or settlement patterns on the Great Lakes. Dann, S. L. 1994. The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery. MICHU-SG-93-401, COMPUTER EXTENSIONS pp. 24–32. East Lansing, MI: Michigan Sea Grant College Program. Great Lakes Education Program: Edsall, T. A. and J. E. Gannon. 1991. A Profile of http://www.msue.msu.edu/seagrant/ Lake St. Clair. MICHU-SG-91-701. Ann Arbor, The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and MI: Michigan Sea Grant College Program. Resource Book: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/ Holling, Holling Clancy. 1941. Paddle-to-the-Sea. atlas/intro.html Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. U.S. Coast Guard Station St. Clair Shores, International Joint Commission. 1995. The Great Michigan web site: http://www.dot.gov/ Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource dotinfo/uscg/d9/stclair.html Book. EPA-905-B-95-001. , IL: Great Lakes shipping schedules: Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.oakland.edu/boatnerd/ Sea Grant. 1997. “How do ships get from one lake to another?” Earth Systems—Activities for Great Lakes Schools: Great Lakes Shipping. EP-084, pp. 33–37. Columbus, OH: Ohio Sea Grant Publications. TEACHER MEMOS

Subjects: Social Studies, Science. Michigan Standards: ss6, ss7, ss8, ss19, s1, s12, s13. Skills: Description, Gathering Data, Interpretation, Investigation, Large Group, Listening, Mapping, Modeling, Reporting, Small Group. Timing: Pre-cruise. Charting the GLEP Course: Complete this activity before “Invader Species of the Great Lakes.” Conceptual Framework Reference: IA1, IA2, IB1, ID1, ID2, IIB2, IIB3, IIIB2, IIIC1, IVC1. Duration: Two Days. Day 1 = 30 minutes–1 hour; Day 2 = 1 hour. Setting: Classroom. Connecting Channels Quiz LEARNER’S WORKSHEET

Name Answers to the following questions are names of the main rivers, canals, and lakes that connect the Great Lakes together.

I am the link between Lake Ontario and the Atlantic Ocean.

I am a river between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Ships get around by using me.

I am the most downstream link between Lakes Huron and Erie.

I am the middle link between Lakes Huron and Erie.

I am the most upstream link between Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

I am the river between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

I am the lock system between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

I am the between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

GREAT LAKES CONNECTIONS COPY MASTER GREAT LAKES CARDS

Lake Superior Lake Michigan Locate these items or places on Lake Superior Locate these items or places on Lake Michigan and write them on your lake shape. and write them on your lake shape. 11) Duluth, 11) , Wisconsin 12) Marquette, Michigan 12) Chicago, 13) Area of Concern 13) 14) Superior, Wisconsin 14) , Michigan 15) National Park, Michigan 15) Escanaba, Michigan 16) /Canadian 16) Green Bay Area of Concern 17) Keewenaw Peninsula, Michigan 17) Gary, 18) 18) 19) St. Mary's River 19) Manistee National 10) Soo Locks 10) Sleeping Bear National Use Extension Bulletin E-1866 Lakeshore

Lake Huron Lake Erie Locate these items or places on Lake Huron Locate these items or places on Lake Erie and write them on your lake shape. and write them on your lake shape. 11) Mackinac , Michigan 11) Toledo, Ohio 12) , Ontario, Canada 12) Detroit, Michigan 13) United States/Canadian border 13) Windsor, Canada 14) —Bay Area of Concern 14) Erie, 15) Port Huron, Michigan 15) Buffalo, New York 16) St. Mary’s River and Soo Locks 16) Area of Concern 17) , Ontario, Canada 17) Long Point, Provincial Park, Canada 18) Huron National Forest, Michigan 18) Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada 19) Au Sable River, Michigan 19) 10) St. Clair River 10) United States/Canadian border Use Extension Bulletin E-1868 Use Extension Bulletin E-1869

Lake Ontario Lake St. Clair Locate these items or places on Lake Ontario Locate these items or places on Lake St. Clair and write them on your lake shape. and write them on your lake shape. 11) Rochester, New York 11) Clinton River 12) St. Lawrence River 12) Metropolitan Beach, Michigan 13) Harbour Area of Concern 13) Mt. Clemens, Michigan 14) Welland Canal 14) 15) Niagara Falls, New York 15) Navigation Channel 16) 16) St. Clair River Area of Concern 17) St. Lawrence (National Park) 17) Island, Provincial Park, Canada 18) Picnic Point, New York State 18) Detroit River Park 19) Algonac, Michigan State Park 19) United States/Canadian border 10) United States/Canadian border 10) New York State (Erie) Canal Use A Profile of Lake St. Clair MICHU-SG-91-701 COPY MASTER CONNECTING WATERWAYS CARDS

CONNECTING WATERWAYS CONNECTING WATERWAYS St. Lawrence Seaway Welland Canal Research this Great Lakes connecting and waterway and answer the following questions. Research these Great Lakes connecting 1) What two large bodies of water does the waterways and answer the following questions. St. Lawrence Seaway connect? 2) At what sea levels/elevations are these 1) What two large bodies of water do these two two bodies of water? Which body of water waterways connect? is higher? 2) At what sea levels/elevations are these 3) Why was it necessary to build the two bodies of water? Which body of water St. Lawrence Seaway? is higher? 4) What economic products do ships carry 3) What are the differences between the between states, Canada, and countries Welland Canal and the Niagara River? around the world? 4) Why was it necessary to build the 5) Do you think exotic species came into the Welland Canal? Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence 5) How does the canal work for ships, and how Seaway? How? does the lock system work?

CONNECTING WATERWAYS CONNECTING WATERWAYS Detroit River and Lake St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair Navigation Channel St. Clair Navigation Channel Research these Great Lakes connecting Research these Great Lakes connecting waterways and answer the following questions. waterways and answer the following questions. 1) What two large bodies of water does the 1) What two large bodies of water does the Detroit River connect? St. Clair River connect? 2) At what sea levels are these two bodies of 2) At what sea levels are these two bodies of water? Which body of water is higher? water? Which body of water is higher? 3) What is the St. Clair Navigation Channel 3) What is the St. Clair Navigation Channel used for? used for? 4) Why was it necessary to build the St. Clair 4) Why was it necessary to build the St. Clair Navigation Channel? Navigation Channel? 5) Why do you think the large cities of Windsor 5) How do you think the non-native zebra and Detroit developed along the Detroit mussel was introduced into Lake St. Clair? River?

CONNECTING WATERWAYS CONNECTING WATERWAYS St. Mary’s River Straits of Mackinac and Soo Locks Research this Great Lakes connecting waterway and answer the following questions. Research this Great Lakes connecting waterway and answer the following questions. 1) What two large bodies of water does this waterway connect? 1) What two large bodies of water does this 2) At what sea levels are these two bodies of waterway connect? water? Which body of water is higher? 2) At what sea levels are these two bodies of 3) What famous bridge was built to connect the water? Which body of water is higher? lower and upper parts of Michigan? 3) Why do you think the St. Mary’s River is an 4) Why are canals, channels, or lock systems Area of Concern? not necessary for ships and in the 4) Why was it necessary to build the Soo Straits of Mackinac? Locks? 5) What economic products do ships carry 5) How does the lock system work for ships between states, Canada, and countries and barges? around the world?