Rivers Connected to Lake Erie: The Great Lakes Plumbing

Lake Erie's Inlets, Outlets, and Canals

Lake Erie (shallowest, warmest, most productive Great Lake) connects to the system via natural rivers and engineered canals:

1. Detroit River — From Lake Huron

• Flows south 51 km from Lake St. Clair (which receives Lake Huron via St. Clair River).
• Border: Michigan (USA) / Ontario (CAN).
• Major shipping channel (27 ft deep). Detroit/Windsor industrial heartland.

2. Niagara River — To Lake Ontario

• Flows north 58 km from Lake Erie → Niagara Falls → Lake Ontario.
• Drops 99 m (326 ft) — half at Falls.
• Border: New York / Ontario. Power: Sir Adam Beck (CAN), Robert Moses (US) — 4.4 GW combined.
• Welland Canal (see below) bypasses Falls for ships.

3. Welland Canal — The Engineering Bypass

• 43.4 km, 8 locks (Lock 8 = control), lifts/lowers ships 99 m.
• Connects Lake Erie (Port Colborne) to Lake Ontario (Port Weller) — bypasses Niagara River/Falls.
• Part of St. Lawrence Seaway. 3,000+ ships/yr. Max vessel: 225.5 m × 23.8 m (Seawaymax).

4. Maumee River — Toward Lake Michigan (via Canal)

• Flows NE 217 km from Fort Wayne, IN → Toledo, OH → Maumee Bay (Lake Erie).
• Wabash & Erie Canal (historic, 1840s) connected Maumee headwaters to Wabash River → Ohio River → Mississippi. Abandoned 1870s.
• Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal (1900) connects Chicago River (Lake Michigan) to Des Plaines → Illinois → Mississippi — not via Maumee.
• Modern: No navigable Maumee–Lake Michigan link. Chicago diversion is separate.

Other Tributaries

• Sandusky, Huron, Vermilion, Cuyahoga (infamous 1969 fire), Grand (OH), Raisin (MI).
• Total drainage basin: 58,800 km² (incl. Lake St. Clair).

Flow Summary

Lake Superior → St. Marys River → Lake Huron → St. Clair River → Lake St. Clair → Detroit River → Lake Erie → Niagara River / Welland Canal → Lake Ontario → St. Lawrence River → Atlantic.