Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is surrounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the American state of New York, whose water boundaries meet in the middle of the lake. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means “Lake of Shining Waters”. Its primary inlet is the Niagara River from Lake Erie. The last in the Great Lakes chain, Lake Ontario serves as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River.GeographyLake Ontario is the easternmost of the Great Lakes and the smallest in surface area, although it exceeds Lake Erie in volume . It is the 14th largest lake in the world. When its islands are included, the lake has a shoreline that is 712mi long. As the last lake in the Great Lakes' hydrologic chain, Lake Ontario has the lowest mean surface elevation of the lakes at 243 feet above sea level; 326ft lower than its neighbor upstream. Its maximum length is 193smi and its maximum width is 53smi. The lake's average depth is 47 fathoms 1 foot, with a maximum depth of 133 fathoms 4 feet . The lake's primary source is the Niagara River, draining Lake Erie, with the St. Lawrence River serving as the outlet. The drainage basin covers 24,720 square miles . As with all the Great Lakes, water levels change both within the year and among years . These water level fluctuations are an integral part of lake ecology, and produce and maintain extensive wetlands. The lake also has an important freshwater fishery, although it has been negatively affected by factors including over-fishing, water pollution and invasive species.