Rush Hour, North Shore Lake Superior at Palisade Head

Boat traffic is never an issue on the incredibly vast and big lake they call Gitche Gumee. This image was captured at Palisade Head, an icon on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.. Majestic pines, gnarled trees, wonderful views and many beautiful hiking trails offer visitors an incredible variety of ways to explore this pristine and captivating region. Lake Superior, most northwesterly and largest of the five Great Lakes of North America and one of the worlds largest bodies of fresh water. Its name is from the French Lac Superieur (Upper Lake). Bounded on the east and north by Ontario (Canada), on the west by Minnesota (U.S.), and on the south by Wisconsin and Michigan (U.S.), it discharges into Lake Huron at its eastern end via the St. Marys River. Lake Superior is 350 miles (563 km) long (east to west), and its greatest width is 160 miles (258 km) from north to south. It has a mean surface elevation of 600 feet (180 metres) above sea level and a maximum depth of 1,332 feet (406 metres). The lakes drainage basin is 49,300 square miles (127,700 square km), exclusive of its surface area of 31,700 square miles (82,100 square km). The lake is so massive and its volume so large that, were it to be emptied at its current rate (with no compensating additions of water), it would take 191 years. Because of its large size (relative to watershed area) and the porous dam at its outlet, long-term lake-level fluctuations are much lower than in any of the other Great Lakesgenerally less than 1 yard (1 metre). Annual lake-level fluctuations are less than 12 inches (30 cm). Lake Superior receives water from approximately 200 rivers, of which the largest are the Nipigon (from the north) and the St. Louis (from the west). Other principal rivers entering the north shore are the Pigeon, Kaministikwia, Pic, White, and Michipicoten. No large rivers enter the lake from the south; the middle-sized Sturgeon and Tahquamenon rivers are the main south-shore tributaries. Small amounts of water are also diverted into the lake from two places otherwise outside of the watershedLong Lac and Ogokiin order to accentuate hydroelectric power generation at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, and Niagara Falls. Britannica