How many islands are in Lake Erie?
Short answer
Lake Erie has 31[1] islands, 18[1] in the United States and 13[1] in Canada, mostly in the western basin, according to Wikipedia. The largest is Ontario's Pelee Island, about 16 sq mi[2] (42 km²); the largest American island is Kelleys Island.
Key numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Islands | 31[1] |
| In the United States / in Canada | 18[1] / 13[1] |
| Pelee Island, area | 16 sq mi[2] / 42 km²[2] |
| Kelleys Island, area | 4.41 sq mi[3] / 11.4 km²[3] |
Why the islands are in the west
Nearly all of the islands lie in the shallow western basin, and NOAA's geomorphology of the lake explains why: they are erosional remnants of harder rock that the glaciers could not scour away. They form two north–south bands. The western band, including the Bass Islands, Catawba Island and Middle and East Sister Islands, stands on resistant Silurian dolomites; the eastern band, Marblehead, Kelleys Island and Pelee Island, on Devonian limestone.[4] The greatest relief in the western lake, about about 15–20 m[4], surrounds the Bass Islands, and currents have cut deep channels between them; the deepest, Starve Island Deep between South Bass Island and the Marblehead Peninsula, reaches 19 m[4].[4]
The main islands
Pelee Island, in Ontario, is the largest island in the lake at about 42 km²[2]; with eight smaller islands it forms the township of Pelee, and it is the only one of them that is inhabited.[2] Middle Island, just to the south, is the southernmost land in Canada and part of Point Pelee National Park.[5] On the American side, Kelleys Island, about 4.41 sq mi[3], is the largest; its bedrock carries some of the best-known glacial grooves anywhere, preserved in a state memorial.[3,6] South Bass Island, with the village of Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass and North Bass make up the Bass Islands, and most of the larger islands are reached by ferry from the Ohio and Ontario shores.[6]
Islands with lighthouses
Several islands carry lighthouses in this gazetteer: South Bass Island, Green Island, West Sister Island and Turtle Island on the Ohio side, and Pelee Island and Middle Island in Ontario. Some can be visited; others, like West Sister Island, a national wildlife refuge closed to visitors, are seen only from the water. Each light's page explains how.[7,8]
Questions people ask
What is the largest island in Lake Erie?
Pelee Island, in Ontario, at about 16 sq mi (42 km²). The largest American island is Kelleys Island, Ohio.
Why are most Lake Erie islands at the west end?
They are remnants of hard dolomite and limestone that resisted glacial erosion, according to NOAA's study of the lake floor, while softer rock was scoured away.
Related questions
Sources
- Lake Erie, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Pelee, Ontario, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Kelleys Island, Ohio, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Bathymetry of Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair: Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair Geomorphology, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NGDC). Accessed .
- Middle Island (Lake Erie), Wikipedia. Accessed .
- List of Lake Erie Islands, Wikipedia. Accessed .
- Lake Erie Gazetteer data: this site's own compiled records (lighthouses, shipwrecks, storms), Lake Erie Gazetteer (WeldonPC). Accessed .
- West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Accessed .
Facts as of · page checked · Markdown version
How to cite
Lake Erie Gazetteer, Lake Erie's islands, lakeerie.info/facts/lake-erie-islands, accessed October 19, 2026.