The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Erie, Lake

​ERIE, Lake, the most southern of the fivegreat lakes of the northern United States andof Canada, and the lowest of the chain, exceptLake Ontario, which lies below it to the northeast.It is bounded N. by the province ofOntario, Canada, S. E. and S. by New York,Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and W. by Michigan,and lies between lat. 41° 25' and 42° 55' N,and lon. 78° 55' and 83° 34' W. Both thelakes named lie nearly in the extension of theline of the river St. Lawrence, the outlet ofall these bodies of fresh water. The meanlength of Lake Erie is about 240 m.; meanbreadth, 40 m.; circumference, 660 m.; elevationabove the level of the sea, 565 ft.; area,9,600 sq. m. Its surface is 333 ft. above thatof Lake Ontario, this great descent being madein the Niagara river, which connects the twolakes. The form of the lake is elliptical, itsmaximum length exceeding the mean by onlyabout 15 m., and the breadth varying from 30to 60 m. Its western extremity receives fromthe north the waters of the upper lakes,discharged by the Detroit river. At this extremityare many islands clustered together, thelargest one about 14 m. in circumference.They are well wooded, with a fertile soil derived from the limestone rocks of which theyare composed, and to some extent they areunder cultivation. The peculiar features of LakeErie are its shallowness and the clayey natureof its shores, the depth, except near its lowerend, rarely exceeding 120 ft. The United Statesengineers found three divisions in the floor ofthe lake, of increasing depth toward the outlet.The upper portion, above Point Pelee island,has a level bottom with an average depth of30 ft. The middle portion takes in the principalpart of the lake, extending to Long Point.The bottom is here level also, and from 60 to70 ft. below the surface. Below Long Pointthe depth varies from 60 to 240 ft. Its bottomis a light clayey sediment, which rapidlyaccumulates from the wearing away of the stratathat compose its shores. Along the coast theloosely aggregated products of the disintegratedstrata are frequently seen forming high cliffs,which extend back into elevated plateaus.The rivers cut deep channels through these,discharging the excavated matters into thelake. The underground watercoursespenetrate through the base of the cliffs and underminethem, and the waves aid to break themdown. Slides are of frequent occurrence.The water takes up the earthy materials, andis rendered turbid by them a long way outfrom the land. This may be seen on bothsides of the lake; and about Cleveland in Ohiothe wearing back of the coast line has beenparticularly remarked. For 40 m., extendingE. to Fairport, the shores are of this character,the stratified clays and sand forming a terrace,the height of which at Cleveland is 103 ft.above the water. Owing to the shallownessof the lake, it is readily disturbed by thewind; and for this reason, and for its paucityof good harbors, it has the reputation of beingthe most dangerous to navigate of any of thegreat lakes. Long continued storms, with thewind setting from one extremity of the laketoward the other, produce disastrous effectsupon the land to leeward by the piling up ofthe waters. From this cause the city ofBuffalo at the foot of the lake has suffered seriousdamage in its lower portions. The return ofthe waters after the storm is in some instancesso rapid, when driven along by a windsetting in the same direction, that powerfulcurrents are produced. In October, 1833, acurrent thus caused burst a passage throughthe peninsula on the N. coast called Long Point,and excavated a channel more than 9 ft. deepand 900 ft. wide. The natural harbors aroundthe lake are few, and these have requiredartificial improvement. They are generally at themouths of the small rivers which flow into thelake, the channels of which are carried far outby piers, constructed on one or both sides.Erie in Pennsylvania has a large natural harbor,formerly known as that of Presque Isle,which has been improved. The best harborbetween it and Buffalo is Dunkirk. The otherprincipal harbors on the S. side are those of ​Cleveland, Sandusky, and Toledo. On the N.shore there is a harbor called Port Maitland, atthe entrance of Grand river near the E. end ofthe lake, and this river is navigable by smallvessels for some distance. Other harbors on thesame side are Ports Dover, Burwell, and Stanley.Lake Erie drains but a narrow margin ofcountry around it, and receives no rivers ofimportance. The Maumee is the largest on theAmerican side, entering the lake at its S. W.extremity, its course being nearly on theextended line of the river St. Lawrence and thetwo lakes Ontario and Erie. Sandusky river,further E. in Ohio, rises about 60 m. S. of thelake; but more to the east the rise of thesurface to the north reaches nearly to the lakeshore, determining the drainage in the oppositedirection, which is that of the general slopeof the strata. The lake was early navigatedby sailing vessels built upon its shores, and asmany as seven steamers were running upon itin 1830. It is usually closed by ice in the earlypart of December, and continues more or lessfrozen over till March or April. In the seasonof navigation an immense amount oftransportation is done upon it, and its commerce isof great value. The communication with LakeOntario is through the Welland canal,constructed across the Canadian peninsula. Onthe American side are six customs districts, viz.:Buffalo Creek and Dunkirk, N. Y.; Erie, Pa.;and Cuyahoga, Sandusky, and Miami, Ohio.The value of the imports from Canada for theyear ending June 30, 1872, was $3,429,722;exports to Canada, $3,945,588; entered fromCanadian ports, 1,284 American vessels of 579,352tons, and 986 Canadian vessels of 157,889tons; cleared for Canadian ports, 1,168 Americanvessels of 533,845 tons, and 1,010 Canadianvessels of 162,509 tons; entered in the coastwisetrade, 3,340 steamers of 2,132,391 tons,and 8,229 sailing vessels of 1,934,972 tons;cleared, 3,377 steamers of 2,147,819 tons, and8,397 sailing vessels of 1,976,408 tons. Therewere registered, enrolled, and licensed in thesedistricts 1,576 vessels of 257,377 tons, viz.: 241steamers of 79,054 tons, 429 sailing vessels of98,295 tons, 886 canal boats of 75,971 tons,and 20 barges of 4,057 tons; built during theyear, 88 vessels of 18,445 tons, viz.: 29 steamersof 8,914 tons, 15 sailing vessels of 4,256 tons,38 canal boats of 3,829 tons, and 6 barges of1,446 tons. The fisheries of Lake Erie are oflittle importance compared with those of theupper lakes, where the same kinds of fish aremore abundant and of better quality. Thechief varieties taken are lake trout and whitefish;other varieties are sturgeon, sisquit,muskelonge, black bass, white bass, Oswegobass, and several species of pike.