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.
When a blast of cold air passed over the relatively warm waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, the contrast in temperature caused steam fog to roll off the surface of the lakes.
It was a typical summer day on Lake Superior on August 2, 2007, when NASA’s Terra satellite recorded the lake’s temperature. Warm waters fringe the southern shores, while cooler waters gather in the center of the lake. Cold waters well up from the depth of the lake along the northern shore.
Nearly six years of regional drought and rapidly increasing demand for water have resulted in decreasing water levels in lakes throughout East Africa. The flooded regions of the Toshka Lakes west of Lake Nasser have decreased greatly over the years, exposing the former dune fields, and leaving a “bath-tub ring” of wetlands (dark region) surrounding the lake shorelines.
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.