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Hudson Bay Company is formed and fur trading begins on Lake Superior
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First sailing ship to travel the upper Great Lakes - Le Griffon
Ship was lost in a storm on the return voyage -
British Warship HMS Ontario sinks in Lake Ontario
The largest British warship on the Great Lakes during the American Revolutionary War. -
The first lighthouse on the Great Lakes began to function
On Lake Ontario at the Niagara River -
First passenger steamers on the Great Lakes
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Erie Canal officially opens
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Discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range
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The first successful iron ore mine is drilled on the Mesabi Iron Range by the Merritt brothers
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Boundary Waters Treaty is signed
The treaty was put in place to resolve any disputes over any waters bordering the US and Canada. -
Great Lakes Storm of 1913
The most destructve natural disaster to hit the Great Lakes -
Mini tsunami "seiche" strikes on Lake Michigan
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The Mackinac Bridge Opens
It connects the lower and upper peninsula of Michigan where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron. It is the 5th longest suspension bridge in the world -
Dr. Suess Publishes the Lorax in response to the worsening pollution
A Humming fish from the book said "I here things are just as dreary down in Lake Erie". In the late 1960's and early 1970's pollution was very bad in the U.S. In Lake Erie it was almost impossible for fish to live in. -
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreeement is signed
By Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon. -
Storm winds damage shoreline of Lake Erie
Northeast storm winds reached velocities of over 50 kilometres per hour -
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald Sinks in Lake Superior
The largest ship to have sunk in the Great Lakes -
Ice Covers 94.7% of the Great Lakes
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Above average precipitation and storms cause flooding and erosion on Lake Erie
The storms destroyed cottages, washed out access roads, eroded beaches, uprooted trees and breached dykes -
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the State of Michigan, the Institute for Exploration Discover Submerged Sinkholes found in Lake Huron
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Ice covers 88% of the Great Lakes
Image taken by Nasa's Aqua satellite
