THE GREAT LAKES AND NIAGARA RIVER. 555 



and the vast chain of inland seas, which form incompar- 

 ably the largest body of fresh water in the world, 

 which issue by it to the sea. 



It may be convenient to give a few technical details- 

 respecting these great lakes, which form so striking 

 a feature of the North American continent. 



Lake Huron, as we know, issues by the St. Clair 

 River and Lake, into Lake Erie, and the small lake 

 seen upon the map, located midway between them and 

 marked as "St. Clair Lake," is itself 29 miles long, 

 and has an estimated area of something like 700 square 

 miles. 



Then there is the renowned Niagara River leading 

 from Lake Erie to Ontario, over the great falls of that 

 name, whose grandeur fills every spectator with awe 

 and admiration, but whose aspects are so well known 

 that we shall not inflict upon our readers a further 

 description of them. Suffice it to say that the 

 total descent from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is 

 326 feet, f 



Shipping ascends via the Welland Canal, on the 

 Canadian side, which has a length of 27 miles, and 25 



* Encycl. Brit., gth Edition, Vol. xxi., p. 182. 

 f Ibid., Vol. xxi., p. 182. 



