Is Lake Erie the shallowest Great Lake?
Short answer
Yes. Lake Erie's average depth is 62 ft[1] (19 m). The next shallowest, Lake Huron, averages 195 ft[1] (59 m), and Lake Superior 483 ft[1] (147 m), according to the U.S. EPA.
Key numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lake Erie, average / maximum depth | 62 ft[1] / 19 m[1] / 210 ft[1] / 64 m[1] |
| Lake Huron, average depth | 195 ft[1] / 59 m[1] |
Depth of the five Great Lakes
The EPA's table of Great Lakes physical features makes the comparison plain. Lake Erie's average depth of 62 ft[1] is less than a third of Lake Huron's and about an eighth of Lake Superior's, and even its deepest point, 210 ft[1], is shallower than the average depth of Lakes Michigan and Ontario.[1]
| Lake | Average depth | Maximum depth |
|---|---|---|
| Superior | 483 ft[1] (147 m) | 1,332 ft[1] (406 m) |
| Michigan | 279 ft[1] (85 m) | 925 ft[1] (282 m) |
| Huron | 195 ft[1] (59 m) | 750 ft[1] (229 m) |
| Erie | 62 ft[1] (19 m) | 210 ft[1] (64 m) |
| Ontario | 283 ft[1] (86 m) | 802 ft[1] (244 m) |
Why so shallow
Lake Erie sits in a basin carved mostly from soft shale and carbonate rock, and NOAA's geomorphology summary describes a floor that was later smoothed by sediment after the glaciers retreated.[2] Wikipedia's account of the lake's geology notes that differential glacial erosion and the influence of structures like the Niagara Escarpment limited how deeply its basin was overdeepened compared with Lakes Superior and Ontario.[3] The western basin, a broad shallow shelf averaging 24 ft[4] (7.4 m), is the shallowest part of all.[4]
What shallowness does
Being shallow shapes almost everything about the lake. The EPA notes that Erie warms quickly in spring and summer, cools quickly in autumn and frequently freezes in winter, and that its shallowness and warmth make it the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes.[4] It also holds the least water of the five, 116 mi³[1] (484 km³), and replaces it fastest, in about 2.6 years[1].[1]
Shallow, deeper, deepest
Even within Lake Erie, depth changes a great deal from west to east. The EPA gives average depths of 24 ft[4] in the western basin, 60 ft[4] in the central basin and 80 ft[4] in the eastern basin, where the lake reaches its maximum of 210 ft[1].[4] NOAA's bathymetry shows the same west-to-east steps: about 10–11 m[2], then 24–25 m[2], then more than 40 m[2] in the east.[2]
Questions people ask
Which Great Lake is the shallowest?
Lake Erie, with an average depth of 62 ft (19 m), according to the EPA.
Which Great Lake is the deepest?
Lake Superior, with a maximum depth of 1,332 ft (406 m), according to the EPA.
Related questions
Sources
- Physical Features of the Great Lakes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed .
- Bathymetry of Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair: Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair Geomorphology, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NGDC). Accessed .
- Lake Erie, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Lake Erie | US EPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed .
Facts as of · page checked · Markdown version
How to cite
Lake Erie Gazetteer, Is Erie the shallowest Great Lake?, lakeerie.info/facts/is-lake-erie-the-shallowest-great-lake, accessed October 19, 2026.