# Draining Lake Superior **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334 "2022-08-09T00:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/1 "2022-08-09T00:12:05Z")
I have posted before about draining Lake Erie. It’s shallow, it slopes towards Niagara Falls, piece of cake. But what about draining Lake Superior? It would be a hell of a lot of work but just imagine walking up to the eastern shore and staring 1400 feet down. You might not even be able to trek to the bottom. You would have to use drones or helicopters. Magnificent. But what would happen to the surrounding terrain? Would the sudden loss of the water cause Michigan and Ontario to collapse into the abyss? Would there be earthquakes galore? [![](https://www.michiganseagrant.org/lessons/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Great_Lakes_Depth_Profile.jpg) ](https://www.michiganseagrant.org/lessons/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Great_Lakes_Depth_Profile.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/2 "2022-08-09T00:17:58Z")
Superior exists to collect the drainage of several rivers over a wide area. What are you going to do with all that water, that won’t make things worse? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/3 "2022-08-09T00:56:57Z")
Rather confused as to what you are seeking to achieve rather than create a hiking trail and turn a lot of freshwater into saltwater. But there are much bigger consequences of that as demonstrated by [Lake Agassiz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz) The lake was formed by Ice Age meltwater. When it broke it’s banks, possibly due an earthquake, the lake drained out the St Lawrence Seaway with sufficient volume to disrupt the salinity profile of the North Atlantic, which stopped the Gulf Stream and very rapidly brought on an Ice Age. > **[Massive ancient lake across Prairies emptied quickly enough to set off an ice...](https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2021/08/massive-ancient-lake-across-prairies-emptied-quickly-enough-to-set-off-an-ice-age-study-suggests.html)** > > A flood of epic proportions drained at a rate of more than 800 Olympic swimming pools a second from a glacial lake that spanned the Prairie provinces more than 12,000 years ago, according to a University of Alberta-led study. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/4 "2022-08-09T02:10:17Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > What are you going to do with all that water, that won’t make things worse? Why, transport it all to the Colorado River, of course. > [@Moving freshwater around on continents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-freshwater-around-on-continents/951528): > > What type of sciences or technology is currently being researched for the purpose of moving water around on continents for irrigation? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/5 "2022-08-09T03:01:31Z")
Would it be that dramatic? I’m not sure where to find the topology but 1300 feet down and then back up on a lake as wide as superior is a pretty mild slope. Once the vegetation grew in it would look like the rest of the area. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/6 "2022-08-09T03:13:19Z")
[Here’s the depth chart of Lake Superior.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Superior_bathymetry_map.png) Notice that in some spots, especially around Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the lake drops to around 200 meters deep right off the shore line… ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/7 "2022-08-09T03:26:58Z")
There’d be lots of ship wrecks including the Fitzgerald. I’ve wanted to go to White Fish Point for years. Being from Michigan I would strongly oppose drainng any of the lakes. We have enough problems with zebra mussels and those stupid carp. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/8 "2022-08-09T06:19:43Z")
Please, if you have to drain a lake please drain Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire. I lost my big brother’s snorkel in Berry Bay around 1980, and would like to get it back. Also, it would be cheaper than Lake Superior. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/9 "2022-08-09T09:36:12Z")
Hobbes: Where are you going? Calvin: I’m going to walk to the other side of the lake. Hobbes: What’s the bucket for? Calvin: To drain the lake. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/10 "2022-08-09T09:48:00Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > What are you going to do with all that water, that won’t make things worse? [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXQYXUdXkAMbWBp.jpg:large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXQYXUdXkAMbWBp.jpg:large) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/11 "2022-08-09T11:48:51Z")
**Draining Lake Superior** …and filled it with Fresh Milk! That’s the first thing that popped into my head when I read the thread title. If you’re of a certain age\* you’ll recognize that as the intro to one of those classic Jay Ward commercials for Captain Crunch – far superior to these lame computer generated ones they run today. I can’t find it on YouTube, but there are plenty of the other Jay Ward cartoon commercials to be found there. \*Old. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/12 "2022-08-09T15:52:17Z")
Communities around Lake Superior would never have to deal with Lake Snow again! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/13 "2022-08-09T17:58:43Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Superior exists to collect the drainage of several rivers over a wide area. > > What are you going to do with all that water, that won’t make things worse? Channel it around the edge. But that is fine detail, that can come later. We’re talking feasibility at this point. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/14 "2022-08-09T18:07:27Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Please, if you have to drain a lake please drain Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire. I lost my big brother’s snorkel in Berry Bay around 1980, and would like to get it back. Also, it would be cheaper than Lake Superior. Excellent idea! Baby steps first. There have actually been at least two lakes drained and refilled in NE Ohio and I have seen both. Lots of mud. Findley Lake south of Wellington and the Meander Creek reservoir near Austintown. Plus Brentwood Lake north of Grafton. The state condemned the dam and removed it, leaving the residents, who paid for lake front property years ago, high and dry. Today it is just a creek with tall weeds and lots of mosquitos. Here is a slide show of Brentwood Lake: > **[Brentwood Lake - The Chronicle-Telegram](https://elyriact.smugmug.com/ARCHIVE/Journalism/Brentwood-Lake/i-GJJzF3N/A)** > > 11JUN09 Residents of Brentwood Lake are upset about the closure of the bridge that provides one of the two access to their subdivision and the deteriorating condition of the dam, foreground. A broken water pipe and subsequent winter and spring melt... ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/15 "2022-08-09T18:11:15Z")
You gotta face it, Denny. You are _not_ getting that watch back. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/16 "2022-08-09T18:20:55Z")
Hmm, a quick web search turned up a National Geographic special called “Drain the Great Lakes”. One thought, Lake Superior is so cold that what falls in tends to not decompose. There’s probably lots of old-growth timber from trees that fell in from the shore now stacked on the bottom just waiting for harvesting. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/17 "2022-08-09T18:24:54Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > One thought, Lake Superior is so cold that what falls in tends to not decompose. There’s probably lots of old-growth timber from trees that fell in from the shore now stacked on the bottom just waiting for harvesting. There’ve been people salvaging logs from the bottom of Lake Superior for a couple of decades, for this very reason, though the logs in question were ones that had fallen off of barges, transporting felled trees to sawmills on the lake. > **[Jurrasic Bark: Underwater Logging in Lake Superior – Mother Earth News](https://www.motherearthnews.com/sustainable-living/nature-and-environment/underwater-logging-zmaz98onzraw/)** > > Sunken hardwood trees from decades of lumbering operations have made underwater logging a viable business opportunity in the Great Lakes. Originally published as "JURRASIC BARK" in the October/November 1998 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/18 "2022-08-09T18:26:44Z")
Reminds me of a story from the early days of television when radio was trying to hold on to its market. An announcer comes on the radio and says: “Folks, we’re going to drain Lake Superior” (Lots of gurgling and down-the-drain noises.) “And we’ll fill it with whipped cream.” (Big SPLOOSH sound.) “There’s this enormous cherry sitting in a field near Traverse City and we’re going to have an Air Force bomber load it up.” (Sound of engines revving up and noises of airplane taking off.) “Now, they’re over the lake, and they’re going to let that cherry GO.” (Engine sounds, then sound of whistling as cherry falls through the air, ending in a big SPLAT sound.) “Folks, you heard this event and saw it all in your mind’s eye. Let’s see television match THAT!” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/19 "2022-08-09T18:28:05Z")
So this lake is so deep that its bottom lies more than 200 m (600 ft) below sea level. To drain it you would have to pump it up. You’re asking about feasibility? Yes, in principle. But it would cost more than turning all of Elon Musk’s lies and exagerations taken together into reality. If I had to choose - and I am fortunate I don’t - I’d prefer his crap to your dream. > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > There’s probably lots of old-growth timber from trees that fell in from the shore now stacked on the bottom Wait, what? Wood does not float in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334/20 "2022-08-09T19:11:38Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Wait, what? Wood does not float in Canada? The logs that are mentioned in the article I posted had become waterlogged, after spending some period of time floating in the lake while being transported; at that point, they did, indeed, sink. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draining-lake-superior/969334.md?page=2)