The Great Lakes and Canada's Northern Inland Seas

The largest of the Great Lakes by surface area, at about 82,103 square kilometres, and the largest freshwater lake in the world by that measure. Its cold, deep waters hold roughly a tenth of the world's surface fresh water.

The only Great Lake lying entirely within the United States, bordered by Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, with an area of about 57,757 square kilometres. Chicago sits along its southwestern shore.

Joined to Lake Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac and shared between the United States and Canada, with an area of about 59,570 square kilometres. Georgian Bay, one of the largest freshwater bays in the world, is part of its shoreline.

The shallowest and smallest by volume of the five lakes, covering about 25,667 square kilometres. It drains northward over Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario, and its warm, shallow water has made it vulnerable to algal blooms in recent decades.

The easternmost and smallest of the Great Lakes by surface area, at about 19,000 square kilometres. It receives the outflow of Niagara Falls and drains into the Saint Lawrence River, and Toronto and Rochester lie on its shores.

The outlet of the lakes toward the Atlantic, about 928 kilometres long and flowing between Canada and the United States past Ontario, Quebec, New York and Vermont. It reaches Montreal at its confluence with the Ottawa River.

A lake of about 24,514 square kilometres in the Canadian province of Manitoba, fed by a vast drainage basin that takes in much of the Canadian prairies and parts of the northern United States.

The largest lake entirely within Canada, at about 31,153 square kilometres, in the Northwest Territories on the Arctic Circle. Its remote, cold waters remain largely undeveloped and support significant populations of lake trout.

The deepest lake in North America, in Canada's Northwest Territories, covering about 27,200 square kilometres. It is the source of the Mackenzie River, and the territorial capital, Yellowknife, stands on its shores.