Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint

Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladie ...

, on whose feast day they first saw the lake. It is part of the Great Lakes system, and along with the St. Clair River and Detroit River, Lake St. Clair connects

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

(to the north) with Lake Erie (to the south). It has a total surface area of about and an average depth of just ; to ensure an uninterrupted waterway, government agencies in both countries have maintained a 30 feet deep shipping channel through the shallow lake for more than a century.

Geography

This lake is situated about northeast of the downtown areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Along with the St. Clair River and Detroit River, Lake St. Clair connects

(to its north) with Lake Erie (to its south). The area is notable for the fact that the Canadian territory around the lake (Windsor metropolitan area) lies south of the adjacent United States territory. Lake St. Clair measures about from north to south and about from east to west. Its total surface area is about . This is a rather shallow lake for its size, with an average depth of about , and a maximum natural depth of . However, it is deep in the navigation channel which is dredged for lake freighter passage by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is fed by the St. Clair River, which flows to the south from Lake Huron and has an extensive river delta where it enters Lake St. Clair. This is the largest delta of the Great Lakes System. Other rivers which feed Lake St. Clair are the Thames and Sydenham rivers which originate in

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

, and the Clinton River, which originates in Michigan. The outflow from Lake St. Clair travels from its southwestern end into the Detroit River, and then into Lake Erie. The tarry time (i.e. the time between entering and leaving) of the water in Lake St. Clair averages about seven days, but this can vary from as little as two to as many as thirty days, depending on the direction of the winds, the water circulation patterns, and the amount of water that is flowing out of Lake Huron. For water flowing through the navigation channel, the time period is only about two days. Lake St. Clair is part of the Great Lakes system, but it is 17 times smaller than Lake Ontario by surface area, and more than 80 times by volume. It is rarely included in the list of "Great Lakes" but is sometimes referred to as "the sixth Great Lake". Scattered proposals have called for it to be officially recognized as a Great Lake, which might enable it to attract greater public funding for scientific research and other projects. File:Carte du lac Sainte-Claire.jpg, 1702 map of Lake St. Clair File:Michigan Macomb county Anchor Bay Selfridge AFB IMG 1812.JPG, Aerial view of Anchor Bay at Lake St. Clair File:Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair bathymetry map.png, Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair bathymetric shaded relief map File:Frozen Lake St Clair.JPG, Frozen Lake St Clair File:Shoreline muck in Lake St. Clair (8741968452).jpg, Shoreline muck in Lake St. Clair

Naming

First Nations/ Native Americans used the lake as part of their extensive navigation of the Great Lakes. The

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

called it ', meaning "(at) the whirlpool". The

Wea The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

derived their name from a Miami cognate: '. In the latter part of the 17th century, the Mississauga established a village near the lake. Early French mapmakers had identified the lake by a variety of French and Iroquoian-language names, including ' eawater Lake ''Lac Ganatchio'' ("kettle," for its shape), in French '. A variety of Native names were associated with sweetness, as the lake was freshwater as opposed to saltwater. These included ''Otsiketa'' (sugar or candy), ''Kandequio'' or ''Kandekio'' (possibly candy), ''Oiatinatchiketo'' (probably a form of Otsiketa), and ''Oiatinonchikebo''. Similarly, the Iroquois nations called present-day

a term meaning "The Grand Lake of the Sweet Sea" (fresh water as opposed to salt water.) The French expressed this association on their maps as ' (sweet sea) and the Dutch identified it in Latin as '. On August 12, 1679, the French explorer

René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

arrived with an expedition. He named the body of water ''Lac Sainte-Claire,'' as the expedition sighted it on the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

Saint Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, ...

. The historian on the voyage, Louis Hennepin, recorded that the Iroquoian tribes referred to the lake as ''Otseketa''. As early as 1710, the English adopted the French name, identifying the lake on their maps as Saint Clare. By the Mitchell Map in 1755, the spelling appeared as the shorter "St. Clair," the form that became most widely used. Some scholars credit the name as honoring the American Revolutionary War General

Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...

, later Governor of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

, but the name Lake St. Clair was in use with this current spelling long before St. Clair became a notable figure. Together the place name and general's name likely influenced settlers' naming a proliferation of nearby political jurisdictions: the Michigan county and township of St. Clair, as well as the cities of St. Clair and St. Clair Shores. Some local historians attributed the namesake to Patrick Sinclair, a British officer who purchased land on the St. Clair River at the outlet of the Pine River. There, in 1764, he built Fort Sinclair, which was in use for nearly twenty years before being abandoned. Unlike most smaller lakes in the region—but like the Great Lakes—''Lake'' comes at the front of its proper name, rather than the end; this is reflective of its French origins.

Water quality

Lake St Clair's location, downstream from the largest freshwater delta in the Great Lakes, has a large effect on its turbidity (clarity). Current water quality is quite good despite past incidents and a history of chemical bio-accumulation. A number of cities source drinking water from or just downstream of the lake and quality is closely monitored. In the early 1970s, the Canadian and American governments closed the commercial fishery over concerns of bio-accumulation of mercury. The industry responsible for this contamination was the Dow Chemical Chlor-Alkali Plant in Sarnia, Ontario. Since 1949, Dow Chemical had been operating mercury cell plants for the production of chlorine and other chemicals. Through its production process, it discharged mercury into the river and contaminated the fishery. The fishery has since not been re-opened, although studies have now confirmed mercury levels are well within the safe range. Sport fishing remains popular in the lake. The governments on both sides of the lakes continue to monitor and publish guides for sport fish consumption.

Boat clubs

Many yacht clubs (boating and sailing clubs) are located along the shores. Some of these include: * The Great Lakes Yacht Club, St. Clair Shores, Michigan * Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan * The Old Club, on Harsens Island, Michigan *North Channel Yacht Club, on Harsens Island, Michigan * Crescent Sail Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan * Grosse Pointe Club (Little Club) in

Grosse Pointe, Michigan Grosse Pointe is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,421. Grosse Pointe is an eastern suburb of Metro Detroit along Lake ...

* Clinton River Boat Club (Club Island), near

Harsens Island, Michigan Sans Souci is an unincorporated community in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Clay Township. The community is located along the St. Clair River on the eastern coast of Harsens Island. The commu ...

* Albatross Yacht Club, Anchor Bay, Michigan * North Star Sail Club, on the Clinton River, Harrison Twp, Michigan * Lake St. Clair Powerboat Club, Saint Clair Shores, Michigan * Lakeshore Sail Club, St. Clair Shores, Michigan *

Windsor Yacht Club The Windsor Yacht Club (WYC) is a private yacht club in Windsor, Ontario. It is located on the Canadian mainland just south of Peche Island overlooking the Detroit River. The clubhouse overlooks the southern shore of Peche Island and is at the n ...

in Windsor, Ontario * Southport Sailing Club, Windsor, Ontario * St. Clair Sail Club, Belle River (now Lakeshore), Ontario * Thames River Yacht Club, Lighthouse Cove (now Lakeshore), Ontario

Public beaches

* Mitchell's Bay Beach, Mitchell's Bay, Ontario, is a small community located on the east shore of Lake St. Clair. * New Baltimore, beach at Walter and Mary Burke Park in Downtown New Baltimore, Michigan. * Sandpoint Beach, located in Windsor, Ontario near Riverside Dr. East and Florence Ave. * Lakeview Park West Beach, located in Belle River, Ontario. The shallow water is great for cooling down in the summer. * Marine City Beach, north end of Water Street in Marine City, Michigan. * Lake St Clair Metropark, Harrison Township, Michigan. * Belle Isle Beach, Belle Isle, Michigan; located on the west side of the island, this beach provides a safe swimming area away from the currents of the Detroit River. The beach is well manicured with clear water and sandy bottom. Nice shade trees and grass border the beach.

References

External links

Description of Bathymetry of Lake Erie & Lake St. Clair
NGDC
Poster showing Bathymetry of Lake Erie & Lake St. ClairNational Data Buoy Center page for Lake St. Clair station LSCM4
Current weather conditions from

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

EPA.gov: Grosse Ile walleye contamination
{{Authority control St. Clair, Lake Great Lakes Waterway St. Clair, Lake St. Clair, Lake Landforms of Chatham-Kent Geography of Detroit Landforms of Essex County, Ontario Landforms of Lambton County Bodies of water of Macomb County, Michigan Bodies of water of St. Clair County, Michigan Bodies of water of Wayne County, Michigan Landforms of Windsor, Ontario Canada–United States border Saint Clair, Lake Detroit River St. Clair River Tributaries of Lake Erie