Lake Erie images

Lake Erie is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes that are shared by the United States and Canada. The way that I remembered the names of all five Great Lakes was by remembering the word HOMES as an acronym.

This is a view of Lake Erie from Hamburg, N.Y.

• Huron
• Ontario
• Michigan
• Erie
• Superior

Of course, that's not the size order. The size order is:

• Superior
• Huron
• Michigan
• Erie 
• Ontario

Another view of Lake Erie

But it can't be said like that because SHMEO doesn't sound as good as HOMES.

Here are some facts about Lake Erie:

• It is the eleventh largest lake in the world
• it touches four U.S. states and one Canadian province: Ontario in Canada, and New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan in the United States.
• it is the shallowest of all of the Great Lakes.
• The surface of Lake Erie is 569 feet 
• it is the warmest of the Great Lakes.
• It is actually a divot formed by a retreating glacier about 4,000.
• One of the pivotal battles of the War of 1812 was the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10th, 1813. Commander Oliver Hazard Perry's battle flag, flying above his ship, sported these words, "Don't give up the ship." After the battle, which resulted in the British surrendering, a message was sent to President William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." 
• There are special gifts for Buffalo and other points along coast of Lake Erie: lake effect snow.
• Ice fishing is a popular wintertime activity.
• Walleye is a common fish caught in Lake Erie.
• Concord grapes grow readily in the region, which means grape juice (Welch's has a juice storage and processing plant in Westfield, N.Y., south of Buffalo).
• Supposedly, a monster named Bessie lives in the lake.