Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, is the northernmost, westernmost, highest, and deepest of the five Great Lakes. The lake is fed by the waters of many short swift-flowing streams and drains through the St. Marys River into Lake Huron. The shores of the lake are generally high, rocky, and forested. The lake is sparsely populated, especially along the N shore.

The waters of Lake Superior are colder and form more shore ice than do the other lakes. The navigation season, shorter than the other lakes, is generally about 8 months long. The actual length of the season depends primarily on whether tonnage demands justify the expense of ice breaking for earlier or later vessel movements. Commercial fishing operations from harbors around the lake continue throughout the year except where prevented by ice conditions.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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Lake Michigan is the third largest of the Great Lakes and is the only one entirely within the United States. The only natural outlet of the lake is at the N end through the Straits of Mackinac. At the S end of the lake, the Illinois Waterway provides a connection to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The N part of the lake has many islands and is indented by several bays; Green Bay and Grand Traverse Bay are the largest. The shores in the S part of the lake are regular, and it has been necessary to construct artificial harbors. The forested shores in the N part of the lake are sparsely populated, while those in the S part are near the heart of the great urban industrial area of the U.S. Midwest.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes. Three large bays extend from the main body of the lake, Saginaw Bay on the W side and North Channel and Georgian Bay on the NE side. The lake receives the waters of Lake Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac and those of Lake Superior from the St. Marys River. The lake discharges at its S end into St. Clair River at Fort Gratiot. The lake is a connecting link in the Great Lakes chain. The depth of water in St. Marys River, St. Clair River, and Detroit River governs the draft of vessels navigating Lake Huron to and from Lakes Superior and Erie.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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Lake Erie is the southeasternmost and fourth largest of the five Great Lakes. With a greatest depth of 210 feet, it is the shallowest of the lakes and the only one with a floor above sea level. The deepest part of the lake is generally at the E end, while the island region in the W part of the lake is the most shallow. The lake has an average depth of 62 feet. The lake is fed at the NW end by water from Lake Huron via St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River. The only natural outlet of the lake is at the NE end through Niagara River. Welland Canal bypasses the falls and rapids of Niagara River and provides a navigable connection to Lake Ontario.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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Lake Ontario is the smallest and easternmost of the Great Lakes. The lake is comparatively deep; the greatest depth is 802 feet, and the average depth is 283 feet, much in excess of the greatest depth of Lake Erie. Lake Ontario is fed chiefly by the waters of Lake Erie by way of the Niagara River. The lake drains at its NE end into the St. Lawrence River. Welland Canal bypasses the falls and rapids of the Niagara River and provides a navigable connection between Lake Ontario and the upper lakes.

For more, see NOAA’s Coast Pilot series.

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The Great Lakes system includes Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, their connecting waters, and the St. Lawrence River. It is one of the largest concentrations of fresh water on the earth. The system, including the St. Lawrence River above Iroquois Dam, has a total shoreline of about 11,000 statute miles (9,559 nm), a total water surface area of about 95,000 square statute miles (24,600,000 hectares), and a total drainage basin of almost 300,000 square statute miles (77,700,000 hectares). With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the system provides access by oceangoing deep-draft vessels to the great industrial and agricultural heartland of the North American continent. From the Strait of Belle Isle at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the distance via the St. Lawrence River to Duluth, MN, at the head of Lake Superior is about 2,340 statute miles (2,033 nm) and to Chicago, IL, near the S end of Lake Michigan is about 2,250 statute miles (1,955 nm). About 1,000 statute miles (870 nm) of each of these distances is below Montreal, the head of deep-draft ocean navigation on the St. Lawrence River.

For more, please see NOAA’s Coast Pilot series.

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The Florida Keys consist of a remarkable chain of low islands, beginning with Virginia Key and extending in a circular sweep to Loggerhead Key, a distance of about 192 miles. For some 100 miles of that distance they skirt the southeast coast of the Florida Peninsula, from which they are separated by shallow bodies of water known as Biscayne Bay, Card Sound, Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Florida Bay. Biscayne Bay has depths of 9 to 10 feet for most of its length, and the other bodies of water are shallow, containing small keys and shoals, and of no commercial importance except as a cruising ground for small boats. Westward of Florida Bay the Florida Keys separate the Straits of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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The coast from Savannah River to St. Johns River extends in a south-southwesterly direction for about 100 miles. Islands separated by numerous sounds and rivers constitute the entire coast. In general these islands are heavily wooded with marshy areas bordering them on their western sides. The 5-fathom curve extends about 7 miles offshore except in the vicinity of St. Simons Sound where 5 fathoms can be found as much as 12 miles offshore.

For more see NOAA Coastal Pilot.

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The coastline from Charleston Harbor to Savannah River is low and timbered, trends in a southwesterly direction for 65 miles and is broken by St. Helena, Port Royal, and Calibogue Sounds, and by numerous inlets from which there is access to the interior by way of the rivers emptying into them. Shoal water extends 3 to 8 miles offshore.

….for more, see NOAA Coastal Pilot

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The approach to New York Harbor from seaward is generally along the south coast of Long Island or the east coast of New Jersey, although the harbor is easily approached from any direction between east and south. During the approach, the south shore of Long Island will be seen to northward and the low sandy beaches of the New Jersey shore will be observed to westward. The Long Island shore is readily identified by sand hillocks and densely populated beach communities, whereas the New Jersey shore is characterized by long sandy stretches and many summer resort settlements.

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For more on boating (and charts) in New York Harbor, please refer to the NOAA Coast Pilot series.