St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-03-09
LAKE SUPERIOR.
Interesting Facts about the Largest Body Of
Fresh Water In the World.

Interesting FhctS ABOUT the Largest Body Of
Fresh Water In the World.
"The Great Lakes" is the title of an
article in March st. Nicholas, written
by w. S. Harwood. Concerning Lake
Superior, Mr.. HARDWOOD says
1t is to begin wit h. the largest BODY of
fresh water in the world. 1t is water OF
wonderful purity whichit holds, too; and
some time-and in the not very distant
tutu re. either-the people who live in the
large cities 10 the west and south will
come TO this lake to get water Tor their
homts. 1t will not be so remarkable an
engineering feat to pipe the water of this
lake, pure and sparkling and fresh from
its cold depths, to the ST cities which are
now struggling with the question OF
their water-supply, and meeting all sorts
ofrifficullies in their efforts TO get water
fit to drink.
All down through this thousand feet
OF blue there is peculiar coldness. At
the very most, the temperature varies
through winter and summer not more
than six degrees. Winter and summer,
this great lake never changes to any ap-
precIable extent. so that il you dip your
finger tips in the blue surface on day
in July. or il you test it some day in
earls winter when you have been out on
some belated, ice mailed fishing smack.
or when you have gone out to watch the
fishermen spearing their supplies thu ongh
the thick ice in mid January. you will
find but trif ng difference in the TEN.
perature. Away down at the bottom,
too. there is but little variation in the
temperature, for it stands at nearly
forty degrees Fahrenheit at he bottom,
and varies from forty to forty.six de.
grees, winter and summer, at the sur ace.
The other lakes, though cold, are not in
this respect like Superior.
The whole bottom OF the lake is be-
lieved to be a strong rock basin, though
it would seem that there must be great
springs at the bottom to help keep uD
the enormous volume of water. From
the north there is large amount OF
water pouring into the lake year in and
year out; the swift rushing, narrow
banked N'pigon and other streams fur.
nishing no small part OF the supply.
These streams IN a large measure make
up he loss from the surface. One OF the
old lake captains. bronzed. kindly.iaced
man who had been for thirty FIVE yea RS
on the lakes, and had faced death many
a time in the irightful storms which
sometimes sweep across these beautiful
bodies oil water, told me. as we were
passing along one day near the north
coast OF Superior, with headlands and
inlets and glossy green bluffs of that
most picturesque shore in iul view, that
the theory that the lake was slowly
going down in size was true. He main
tanned that he could tell from certain
landmarks along the shores, with which
be is as familiar as he would be with
the streets of his old Scottish birthplace,
that tn. lake was slowly very slowly
but surely receding. However. it will
be some centuries yet be'ore there will
be any appreciate lessening OF the Great
Lakes. so that we need not be concerned.
Strange as it NAV seem. the lake has
tides. too. well-de6ned tides, discovered
in 1860 1t is what is called seltrtgis-
tering tide, with regular fux and re.
flux wave, caused, so the scientific men
saw. by the sun and moon. The average
rise and fall every twenty-four hours is
one fourteen hundredth of loot; the
maximum tide at new and full moon is
one twenty-eight.hundredlh OF foot.