How does Lake Erie compare with the other Great Lakes?
Short answer
Lake Erie is the fourth-largest Great Lake by area, 9,910 sq mi[1] (25,700 km²), but the smallest by volume, 116 mi³[1] (484 km³), and the shallowest, averaging 62 ft[1] (19 m), according to the U.S. EPA.
Key numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lake Erie water area | 9,910 sq mi[1] / 25,700 km²[1] |
| Lake Erie volume | 116 mi³[1] / 484 km³[1] |
| Lake Erie average depth | 62 ft[1] / 19 m[1] |
| Lake Erie retention time | 2.6 years[1] |
Five lakes side by side
The table uses the EPA's figures for all five Great Lakes, with volumes and depths measured at low water.[1] Lake Erie ranks fourth by surface area, ahead of Lake Ontario, but last by volume: Lake Ontario, smaller on the map, holds more than three times as much water because it is so much deeper. Erie's average depth of 62 ft[1] is the lowest of the five, and its water turns over in about 2.6 years[1], against 191 years[1] for Lake Superior.[1]
| Lake | Water area | Volume | Average depth | Maximum depth | Shoreline | Retention time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior | 31,700 sq mi[1] | 2,900 mi³[1] | 483 ft[1] | 1,332 ft[1] | 2,726 mi[1] | 191 years[1] |
| Michigan | 22,300 sq mi[1] | 1,180 mi³[1] | 279 ft[1] | 925 ft[1] | 1,638 mi[1] | 99 years[1] |
| Huron | 23,000 sq mi[1] | 850 mi³[1] | 195 ft[1] | 750 ft[1] | 3,827 mi[1] | 22 years[1] |
| Erie | 9,910 sq mi[1] | 116 mi³[1] | 62 ft[1] | 210 ft[1] | 871 mi[1] | 2.6 years[1] |
| Ontario | 7,340 sq mi[1] | 393 mi³[1] | 283 ft[1] | 802 ft[1] | 712 mi[1] | 6 years[1] |
Smallest, warmest, busiest
Its shallowness gives Lake Erie a character of its own. The EPA describes it as the shallowest and the smallest by volume, quick to warm in spring and summer and to cool in autumn, frequently frozen over in winter, and the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes.[2] Its watershed is also the most populated: about approximately 12 million people[2] live there, about one-third[2] of the people in the whole Great Lakes basin, and the EPA notes that Erie is exposed to more stress from cities, industry and farming than any other Great Lake.[2]
Where Erie fits in the chain
Lake Erie sits between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario in the chain of lakes. Most of its water arrives through the Detroit River, 80%[2] of the total inflow, and leaves by the Niagara River toward Lake Ontario.[2,3] In 1911 the Encyclopaedia Britannica measured its surface as nearly 9 feet below Lake Huron's and 327 feet above Lake Ontario's, the drop that the Niagara River makes, much of it at Niagara Falls.[3] Sitting below the upper lakes and above the falls, Erie became the end of the line for most freight from farther west, as the same encyclopedia noted.[3]
Questions people ask
What is the smallest Great Lake?
By volume, Lake Erie, at 116 mi³. By surface area, Lake Ontario, at 7,340 sq mi, is smaller than Erie's 9,910 sq mi (EPA figures).
Which Great Lake is the largest?
Lake Superior, by both area (31,700 sq mi) and volume (2,900 mi³), according to the EPA.
Related questions
Sources
- Physical Features of the Great Lakes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed .
- Lake Erie | US EPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed .
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), "Erie (lake)", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), via Wikisource. Accessed .
Facts as of · page checked · Markdown version
How to cite
Lake Erie Gazetteer, Lake Erie vs the other Great Lakes, lakeerie.info/facts/lake-erie-compared-with-the-other-great-lakes, accessed October 19, 2026.