Lake Erie is usually the first to freeze over because it is shallower than the other Great Lakes.
Published Feb 18, 2018Image of the Day Atmosphere Temperature Extremes Sea and Lake Ice
Snow cover lingered in the Great Lakes region on February 16, 2008. Against the backdrop of snowy ground appear the deep blue waters of the Great Lakes and nearby water bodies. In this wintertime shot, the lakes are relatively ice-free, except for Lake Erie.
Published Feb 20, 2008
The spring thaw is underway in the Great Lakes region of North America.
Published Mar 27, 2019
Lake Erie’s shallowness not only makes it more prone to fluctuating water levels, but also enables this lake to freeze and thaw more readily than its neighbors.
Published Mar 16, 2007
In early January, ice covered most of the lake and prevented the formation of extensive lake-effect clouds.
Published Jan 10, 2018
Nearly 90 percent of the lake was ice-covered on January 9, 2014.
Published Jan 15, 2014
From late February to early March in most years, the winter cold freezes much of the surface area of the lakes. But not so much in 2020.
Published Apr 24, 2020
Ice cover surpassed 80 percent for the first time in 20 years.
Published Feb 21, 2014
The white landscape contrasts with the dark and colorful water, which at the time had very little ice cover.
Published Jan 21, 2020
Ice cover on the world’s largest freshwater lake remains significantly above average for mid-April.
Published Apr 24, 2014
This lake in northwest Russia is small compared to Lake Baikal, yet it still manages to make a stately appearance in satellite imagery.
Published Apr 4, 2020
A massive algal bloom and storm-churned sediment color the Great Lakes in this image from October 9, 2011.
Published Oct 13, 2011
Acquired November 10, 2010, this natural-color image shows assorted lakes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in iridescent hues of blue, green, and teal.
Published Nov 26, 2010
Huge sheets of ice carved out the U-shaped valleys that hold New York’s Finger Lakes. When they retreated north about 10,000 years ago, glaciers left deposits of gravel that dammed streams and caused the depressions to become lakes.
Published Nov 30, 2013
Late August 2010 provided a rare satellite view of a cloudless summer day over the entire Great Lakes region of North America.
Published Sep 7, 2010
