Lake Michigan 
Lake Michigan is the third largest Great Lake
and the sixth largest lake in the world. Bordered by
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, it is the only
Great Lake that lies entirely within the boundaries of the
United States. Its name comes from the Algonkian Indian
word for it, "Michigami" (or "Misschiganin"), meaning "large
body of water." Like Lake Huron, Lake Michigan's surface is
about 579 feet above sea level. It is slightly smaller than
its twin, with a surface area of 22,300 square miles --
about half the size of Tennessee. Lake Michigan averages 279
feet deep and reaches 923 feet at its deepest.This long,
narrow lake -- 307 miles by 118 miles -- is a natural
cul-de-sac. Only a relatively small amount of water flows
out the bottleneck at the straits between Michigan and
Huron, so Michigan holds its water a long time -- nearly 100
years.. Almost 100 species of fish have been recorded in
Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan has the largest sport fishery on the
Great Lakes, valued at more than $250 million
annually. Besides its world-class trout and salmon
fisheries, the lake also supports substantial commercial
whitefish and yellow perch fisheries.The largest lakeshore
dunes in the world are also found along Lake Michigan,
attracting millions of people annually to the lake's
numerous beaches, coastal state parks and national
lakeshores. As in the days of the glaciers, some of the
lake's water today empties into the Mississippi River via
the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal and Illinois River. While
this canal has facilitated shipping and helped reduce
pollution of the lake, in recent years it has also helped
unwelcome foreign species like the
zebra mussel to spread beyond the Great Lakes basin.
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