Great Lakes Basin
A map of the Great Lakes Basin showing the five sub-basins within. Left to right they are: Superior (magenta); Michigan (cyan); Huron (pale green); Erie (yellow); Ontario (light coral).
The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large drainage basin that feeds into the lakes. It is generally considered to also include a small area around and beyond Wolfe Island, Ontario, at the east end of Lake Ontario, which does not drain into the Great lakes, but into the Saint Lawrence River.
Contents
1 Demographics
2 Sub-basins
3 St. Lawrence Basin
4 Nuclear power plants
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links
Demographics
The basin is home to 33 million people.[1] The basin hosts eight of Canada's 20 largest cities, including Toronto, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines, Niagara, Oshawa, Windsor, and Barrie. The United States cities of Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, and Rochester, are located on shores of the Great Lakes.
Sub-basins
Each individual lake forms a sub-basin, such as the Lake Erie Basin, and each sub-basin consists of multiple watersheds, such as Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Watershed. The overall Great Lakes Basin is monitored by the binational Great Lakes Commission.
St. Lawrence Basin
Quebec, a portion of whose lands drain into the St. Lawrence Basin, is a signatory to the Great Lakes Charter of 1985, the 2001 Charter Annex, and the Agreements of 2005. [2] While not a part of the Great Lakes Basin, Quebec's position along the Saint Lawrence Seaway makes it a partner in water resource management with Ontario and the eight US states mentioned above.
Nuclear power plants
There are many nuclear power plants in the Great Lakes Basin. Twenty power plants on the Canadian side.[3] The radioactive waste they produce and release[4] like radioactive tritium[5] have not been collectively combined to ascertain the total impact on the area.
List of the Canadian nuclear power plants.
Eastern shore of Lake Huron in Tiverton, Ontario. The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.
1) Bruce A: Unit 1, Built 1977
2) Bruce A: Unit 2, Built 1977
3) Bruce A: Unit 3, Built 1978
4) Bruce A: Unit 4, Built 1979
5) Bruce B: Unit 1, Built 1985
6) Bruce B: Unit 2, Built 1984
7) Bruce B: Unit 3, Built 1986
8) Bruce B: Unit 4, Built 1987
North shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.
9) Darlington: Unit 1, Built 1992
10) Darlington: Unit 2, Built 1990 Offline
11) Darlington: Unit 3, Built 1993
12) Darlington: Unit 4, Built 1993
North shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.
13) Pickering A: Unit 1, Built 1971
14) Pickering A 2 Offline
15) Pickering A 3 Offline
16) Pickering A: Unit 4, Built 1973
17) Pickering B: Unit 1, Built 1983
18) Pickering B: Unit 2, Built 1984
19) Pickering B: Unit 3, Built 1985
20) Pickering B: Unit 4, Built 1986
List of the American Nuclear power plants
Western edges of Lake Erie
21) Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station Fermi 1
22) Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station Fermi 2
Lake Michigan
23) Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 1
24) Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2
25) Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
26) Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant Offline
27) Kewaunee Power Station Offline
28) Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
Southern shore of Lake Ontario
29) R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant
30) James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant
31) Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station Unit 1
32) Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station Unit 2
See also
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Notes
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^ Great Lakes Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, Government of Quebec
^ "CANDU reactors in operation in Canada"
^ "Pickering nuclear plant suffers minor water leak" The National Post.
^ "Reactor's neighbours alarmed over radioactive toxins in river" CBC news.
External links
- Great Lakes Commission
- Hydrographic Regions of Quebec
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