{"id":9531,"date":"2023-11-06T09:50:12","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T08:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=9531"},"modified":"2023-11-06T09:50:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T08:50:12","slug":"does-the-great-lakes-flow-into-the-mississippi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/does-the-great-lakes-flow-into-the-mississippi-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Does The Great Lakes Flow Into The Mississippi River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Great Lakes have long been part of the global consciousness, both for their sheer beauty and for their vastness. Spanning an area of over 94,000 square miles, the five lakes—Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario—are North America’s largest grouping of freshwater lakes. They contain around 20 percent of the planet’s freshwater supply, yet many people wonder, does the Great Lakes flow into the Mississippi River? The answer is not a simple one.<\/p>\n

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River drainage basin, which includes the lakes and much of the land surrounding them, is located entirely within the United States and Canada. The closest point of connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River is the Straits of Mackinac, located between two of the Great Lakes, Michigan and Huron, in Michigan. From there, the waters of these two lakes flow into Lake St. Clair, which is located between Ontario and Michigan. However, while the Great Lakes are connected to the Mississippi River System, the two water systems are not directly connected. In other words, the water in the Great Lakes does not flow directly into the Mississippi.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that the two water systems are not directly connected, the Great Lakes still have an indirect impact on the Mississippi River. This indirect connection is due to the fact that both the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River are part of a larger river system, known as the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River drainage basin. This means that rain and snowmelt that fall on the Great Lakes region eventually flows into the Mississippi River, either directly or indirectly.<\/p>\n

In addition to their indirect connection through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River drainage basin, the Great Lakes also have a direct impact on the Mississippi River. This is due to the fact that the two rivers are part of a larger Great Lakes-Mississippi River drainage basin. This connection means that water from the Great Lakes can be transported through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal into the Mississippi River, allowing the Great Lakes to have a direct influence on the water levels in the Mississippi.<\/p>\n