Lake St. Clair

Lake St. Clair 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, on whose feast day they first sighted this body of water.

It is part of the Great Lakes system, and along with the St. Clair River and Detroit River, Lake St. Clair connects Lake Huron with Lake Erie. It has a total surface area of about 430 square miles and an average depth of just 11 feet; to ensure an uninterrupted waterway, government agencies in both countries have maintained a deep shipping channel through the shallow lake for more than a century.