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Bathymetry of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair

Bathymetry is the science of measuring (soundings) and mapping (bathymetric maps) the depths of a water body (oceans, seas,
lakes) to delineate the topography of their basins. Bathymetric maps are two-dimensional representations of the 3-dimensional shape
of these basins. Large amounts of sounding data were obtained during geophysical surveys of the Great Lakes dating back to the
mid-1800s. However, no bathymetric maps approaching the full resolution allowed by these data were produced until this collabora-
tive project was established in the mid-1990s between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cana-
dian Hydrographic Service . The historic sounding databases from both the United States and Canada were used to create as com-
plete and accurate a representation of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair bathymetry as presently possible. A full color poster measuring
26x50 inches depicting the bathymetric contours of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair is available (NGDC Report MGG-13). The map has a
contour interval of 1 m and includes sidebar call-outs identifying key physiographic features of the lake bottoms. Color diffracting
glasses are included with the poster for viewing with a slight 3-D effect. The full bathymetric data set is also available on CD-ROM.
For information about availability and cost of these and other presently available Great Lakes bathymetry products (Lake Michigan,
Lake Ontario), visit the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center website at:
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/greatlakes/greatlakes.html