Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth largest (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally blank">Large Lakes of the World. Factmonster.com. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie - Facts and Figures, Great Lakes Information Network. and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the _Canadian province of Ontario, on the south by the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan. The lake is named after the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived along its southern shore before being exterminated for aiding the Hurons, the enemy of the Iroquois League.

The lake's formerly more extensive lakebed creates a favorable environment for agriculture in the bordering areas of Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The lake also supports a strong commercial and sport fishery. But since high levels of pollution were discovered in the 1960s and 1970s, there has been continued debate over the desired intensity of commercial fishing.