The Great Lakes are located near the border between the United States and Canada. The total area of the lakes is 244,106 km².
The land around the lakes is rich in minerals such as iron ore, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and asbestos. The lakes are of great importance for the transport of coal. The lakes were carved out by the ice sheet that covered most of the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial period. In winter, the surface of the Great Lakes creates the Lake Effect, and the resulting Snow Belt stretches across five states.
