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Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

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Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#31

Post by 52-6F-62 »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #16

Seas or not, I love the lakes and the land around them, in the 20+ years since I moved myself here they've taken over my heart. I'm from the aspen parkland of central Alberta; thin trees, dry air, small muddy leach-infested kettle lakes, big skies, poplar and birch land. When I was 8 we did a trip across Canada, and I remember us camping by the shores of Superior when a massive thunderstorm came rolling in, and it le…

I grew up a five minute walk from Lake Erie in a small town several hours SW of Toronto near the Grand River.

Like people who live on the coasts it gets into your blood.

The summers really are something else. I don’t miss my home county so much, but I have a vivid image of the rolling countryside and summer drives listening to music. It’s a memory I tap into often.

These days I live in Dundas and if you haven’t made it down here yet I recommend it!

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#32

Post by nemo44x »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #16

Seas or not, I love the lakes and the land around them, in the 20+ years since I moved myself here they've taken over my heart. I'm from the aspen parkland of central Alberta; thin trees, dry air, small muddy leach-infested kettle lakes, big skies, poplar and birch land. When I was 8 we did a trip across Canada, and I remember us camping by the shores of Superior when a massive thunderstorm came rolling in, and it le…

I guess. I don’t miss them and always thought they were cold and smelly and didn’t make for great beaches. The weather around them is awful as well with long, bitter cold winters and summer days that are often extremely humid. You can’t really eat the fish out them either due to high levels of mercury.

Additionally the land around the lakes is nice but not spectacular. At least not for North America.

If I were to plan a trip to the general region and wanted wilderness then I’d pick the Boundary Waters I think.

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#33

Post by cmrdporcupine »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #31
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #16

Seas or not, I love the lakes and the land around them, in the 20+ years since I moved myself here they've taken over my heart. I'm from the aspen parkland of central Alberta; thin trees, dry air, small muddy leach-infested kettle lakes, big skies, poplar and birch land. When I was 8 we did a trip across Canada, and I remember us camping by the shores of Superior when a massive thunderstorm came rolling in, and it le…

I grew up a five minute walk from Lake Erie in a small town several hours SW of Toronto near the Grand River. Like people who live on the coasts it gets into your blood. The summers really are something else. I don’t miss my home county so much, but I have a vivid image of the rolling countryside and summer drives listening to music. It’s a memory I tap into often. These days I live in Dundas and if you haven’t made…

Oh, hi neighbour. I'm up north of Waterdown on 6 acres. Dundas is where we do most of our "town time." The archaeology dig I was talking about was @ Cootes on the RBG lands.

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#34

Post by andrew_ »

Grew up in Michigan and I always describe them to people as "inland oceans." People in the south understand what it means to be 30 miles offshore in the Atlantic or Gulf, and it blows their mind to know that the lakes are so big you can travel far enough out in them to lose sight of land. They're "Great" bodies of water indeed, disrespect them while on their waters at your own peril.

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#35

Post by hanselot »

blakesterz wrote: post #10

"They hold more than a fifth of Earth’s unfrozen fresh water" I read quite a few stories about the horrible drought in the west, and here I am sitting on a good part of all the usable water in the entire world. I can't help but think at some point a bunch of people are going to come for that water, in one way or another. Either by moving here, or trying to move it there. Some ideas have been floating around about tha…

Some day I will convince 16 million people to each dig a tiny bit of a canal on the northern border of South Africa. I hope that by simply plotting the perfect route for the water to travel, the natural erosion will finish my work for me.

That way the entire Northern Cape (deserty region) and the Southern Namibia (deserty region) will have a massive amount of water suddenly closeby, eventually changing the surrounding environment naturally.

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#37

Post by justusthane »

alehlopeh wrote: post #24
justusthane wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to say, I grew up on Lake Superior in Wisconsin, and it’s funny to hear the Edmund Fitzgerald referred to as just “a shipwreck.” In this area, the sinking of the Fitzgerald easily has more cultural relevance than the Titanic. In the small towns that surround Lake Superior, it’s not uncommon to run into someone who lost a loved one, so be careful making jokes in bars — and there are jokes[1]. The mystery of it…

29 people died half a century ago, and it’s not uncommon to run into one of their loved ones in a random bar? I am skeptical of that claim.

Maybe "not uncommon" was a bit strong, but it happens. What you have to realize is that these are very small towns[1], shipping is a big industry for the area, and a guy two generations ago can have a lot of grandchildren.

[1]: Check out the list of cities on Lake Superior on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_on_the_Great_La... The three largest are Thunder Bay (108,800), Duluth (86,600), and Sault Sainte Marie, ON (72,000). After that, the mean population of the remaining "cities" is 7,495. I grew up in Ashland, which at 7,908 brings the average up :)

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#38

Post by ham-sandwich »

ceejayoz wrote: post #28
engineer_22 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Water from the Great Lakes cannot leave the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Compact prevents construction of any water withdrawal that will move water outside of the watershed. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Compact

By act of Congress, not Constitutional amendment. It could be repealed in a matter of weeks if Congress saw fit.

I know many people who would oppose removal of water from the region with weaponry. People deeply care about them, more than outsiders know

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#39

Post by throw0101a »

torstenvl wrote: post #6
throw0101a wrote: post #4

Quoted post unavailable.

The quote is "Superior and its siblings are capable of storm surges, rip currents, tsunamis, rogue waves, unique extreme weather phenomena, and destructive surf. They have claimed more than 6,000 ships, more than the Gulf of Mexico and the Black Sea combined, according to estimates." Your creative and ungrammatical editing aside, please don't spam your unrelated political hot takes.

"political hot takes" ?

Even if I misinterpreted the article (oops), the USCG does operate in the Black Sea as evidenced by the linked article.

Re: Are the Great Lakes really inland seas?

#40

Post by pc86 »

ham-sandwich wrote: post #38
ceejayoz wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By act of Congress, not Constitutional amendment. It could be repealed in a matter of weeks if Congress saw fit.

I know many people who would oppose removal of water from the region with weaponry. People deeply care about them, more than outsiders know

And that's all well and good so long as the law backs you up. When it doesn't, that then falls somewhere on a spectrum from felony to treason.
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