Great Lakes of North America

The third largest continent of our beautiful planet Earth - North America - surprises with an alliance of civilization and untouched nature. In the immediate vicinity of the densely populated areas, natural conditions remain intact: the hot deserts, wild beaches, fertile prairies, wild-growing valleys. Here you can see the lakes of North America - the largest and majestic in the whole world.

The generosity of nature on the mainland is manifested in everything: the trees surprise with an unprecedented height, the volcanoes are shocked by powerful eruptions, geysers are fascinated by boiling.

Legacy of glaciers

The lakes of North America are mostly located in the north of the continent. These are lakes of glacial-tectonic origin. In the distant past, when surrendering its positions, the glacier left behind in the territory of Canada, the most northern part of the continent, the tectonic depressions that formed the lakes. Among these lakes are the Great Bear, the Great Slave.

In captivity of the bears

The fourth largest lake in North America - the Big Bear Lake - resembles an irregular star in shape. Located in the Arctic Circle, the lake on the northern side is surrounded by permafrost and tundra. This is the only straight line of the coastline. On the other three sides, the banks are cut by rocky peninsulas.

Situated in the harsh climatic conditions, Bear Lake has been "sleeping" for much of the year under the ice, which covers its surface in October. The ice-free body of water becomes only in June, but the water remains ice-cold throughout the summer season.

Despite a short period of navigation, the lake is a transport artery, taking in its waters passenger and cargo vessels. By means of rivers, the lake is connected to other water areas of Central and Northern Canada. On the water surface of the Mackenzie River, connected with the lake by the tributary, it is possible to reach the Arctic Ocean and get to the Great Slave Lake, where the river originates.

Continental record holder

Another lake of the Laurentian Upland of Canada rightfully occupies an honorable place in the list of natural wonders of North America. The Great Slave Lake surpasses all the brethren of the North American continent in depth, which is 614 meters.

Its name was given to the reservoir in time immemorial, when its shores were inhabited by Indians of the Slavey tribe. The name of the tribe is in tune with the English word slave , which means the slave. So the name came into use with a distorted meaning.

Like many lakes in North America, Slave Lake is navigable for a short summer period, and eight months a year is bound by an ice shell. For many years moving on hard ice during the winter on foot and by road was the only way to communicate between the coastal settlements, until a well-developed road along the coast appeared.

The nature of the shores of the lake is very colorful. The once uninhabited northern shore of the lake is represented by tundra forests, during gold rush attracted thousands of gold diggers.

The eastern and southern shores are surrounded by national parks, on the roadside of which one can meet a forest buffalo that is under threat of extinction.

Recreation

National parks, sailing regattas, sandy beaches - in the summer, fun on the ice - in the winter. But the greatest popularity Slave Lake has earned among anglers. A variety of lake inhabitants (trout, pike, whitefish, perch, arctic grayling) in any season, in any weather attracts lovers of quiet hunting.

Fascinating with beauty

Formed in the crater of an extinct volcano in the southern part of Oregon more than 7,000 years ago, Lake Creutere is the main attraction of the state, attracting tourists.

The volcanic past of the lake is clearly demonstrated by two islands in its water area, which are cones of volcanic ash. More than a century ago, the national park based on the lake's adjoining territory is unofficially called the pumice desert. Deprived of vegetation due to porosity, the surface of the park territory has preserved all traces of the volcanic past.

The magnificent dark blue waters of the most unusual lake in North America, reflecting, as in a huge mirror, the peaks of the surrounding mountains on the surface of the water surface, amaze the imagination from the first moment. The unity of a deep lake, naked surrounding cliffs almost two thousand feet high, two picturesque islands evokes a feeling of special beauty.

The lake has another unusual sight: in the vertical position, projecting over the surface of the water for a meter and a half, over a hundred years a ten-meter tree trunk swims along the lake in a certain direction of movement, without undergoing changes in structure with time.