Which Great Lake is the shallowest by average depth?

Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes by average depth. Its mean depth is about 19 metres (63 feet), while its deepest point reaches roughly 64 metres (210 feet)—still far shallower than the other four lakes.

Erie’s shallow basin was carved by glaciers and is divided into western, central and eastern basins. The western basin is especially shallow, averaging only about 7 metres, which helps the lake warm quickly in summer and freeze more readily in winter.

Its shallowness also gives Erie the smallest volume of the Great Lakes despite its large surface area. A common mix-up is confusing “shallowest” with “smallest”: Erie is the smallest by volume, but Lake Ontario is the smallest by surface area. The lake is named for the Erie people, an Indigenous nation associated with its southern shore.