Lake Huron
Huron, Lake, the second largest of the Great Lakes. Lake Huron is bounded on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the state of Michigan. The lake's area is 23,000 square miles (59,600 km2). Its average elevation is 580 feet (177 m) and its greatest depth is 750 feet (229 m).
Lake Huron receives the waters of Lake Superior through the St. Marys River and those of Lake Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac. It drains into Lake Erie by way of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River. Lake Huron includes two large inlets, Georgian Bay to the east, and Saginaw Bay to the west. It is open for navigation from April to mid-December.
The first European to sight Lake Huron was probably Etienne Brulé, a French explorer, in 1612. Jacques Marquette, a French missionary, established the first settlement on its shore, a mission at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1668.