Which Great Lake has the smallest surface area?

Lake Ontario has the smallest surface area of the five Great Lakes.

It covers about 7,340 square miles, placing it below Lake Erie in area even though it contains substantially more water. Lake Ontario is also the easternmost Great Lake and the final lake in the chain: water arrives primarily through the Niagara River from Lake Erie and leaves through the Saint Lawrence River toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Its smaller surface area can be misleading because the lake is relatively deep. Its maximum depth is about 802 feet, and its volume exceeds Lake Erie’s. The name Ontario comes from an Indigenous Huron-Wyandot term commonly translated as “beautiful lake,” though other interpretations exist. The lake’s shoreline includes major Canadian and American cities, including Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, Rochester, and Watertown. A frequent quiz mistake is choosing Lake Erie simply because it is also relatively small; Erie has the smaller volume, but Ontario has the smaller surface area.