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.

Use the map below to explore NOAA charts in this area. Click through to our FULL SCREEN VIEW for even more options including weather, tides, and our route planner.

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.

Use the map below to explore NOAA charts in this area. Click through to our FULL SCREEN VIEW for even more options including weather, tides, and our route planner.

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.

Use the map below to explore NOAA charts in this area. Click through to our FULL SCREEN VIEW for even more options including weather, tides, and our route planner.

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.

Use the map below to explore NOAA charts in this area. Click through to our FULL SCREEN VIEW for even more options including weather, tides, and our route planner.

With the arrival of spring, EarthNC is celebrating its one year anniversary with the release of Version 2.0 of our EarthNC Online and Plus electronic marine charts for Google Earth.

New Features for EarthNC Online and Plus:

• Redesigned layer organization for faster load times
• Additional chart notes and information for many layers including Caution Areas, Markers, and more
• Update dates and source information for many layers
• Over 500 Waterview’ Bridge Pictures for Inland Waterways
• New ‘Submit Information’ links with photo upload capability and corresponding EarthNC User Layer

EarthNC Plus Exclusives:

• New seamless chart loading option
• New layer view options for land features, non-navigable areas, and deep depths for additional view control
• Shaded Depth Area Layer (Boston Harbor example shown above)
• EarthNC Premium Ocean Weather Beta with 5-day wind, wave, temperature, and current forecast maps

Screen Shots:

Destin Pass showing user-submitted photo in the new EarthNC User Layer. Submitting photos and information is simple. Click on a chart object close to where you’d like to submit information and fill in the resulting web form and optional photo upload. All submissions are moderated prior to posting to the user layer.