<P> Though the five lakes reside in separate basins , they form a single , naturally interconnected body of fresh water , within the Great Lakes Basin . The lakes form a chain connecting the east - central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean . From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River , water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan , southward to Erie , and finally northward to Lake Ontario . The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers , and are studded with approximately 35,000 islands . There are also several thousand smaller lakes , often called `` inland lakes , '' within the basin . The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom , while the surface area of the entire basin ( the lakes and the land they drain ) is about the size of the UK and France combined . Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is located entirely within the United States ; the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada . The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan , Wisconsin , Minnesota , Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and New York . Both Ontario and Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of the lakes : Ontario does not border Lake Michigan , and Michigan does not border Lake Ontario . New York and Wisconsin 's jurisdictions extend into two lakes , and the remaining states into one of the lakes . </P>
<P> Though the five lakes reside in separate basins , they form a single , naturally interconnected body of fresh water , within the Great Lakes Basin . The lakes form a chain connecting the east - central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean . From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River , water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan , southward to Erie , and finally northward to Lake Ontario . The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers , and are studded with approximately 35,000 islands . There are also several thousand smaller lakes , often called `` inland lakes , '' within the basin . The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom , while the surface area of the entire basin ( the lakes and the land they drain ) is about the size of the UK and France combined . Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is located entirely within the United States ; the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada . The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan , Wisconsin , Minnesota , Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and New York . Both Ontario and Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of the lakes : Ontario does not border Lake Michigan , and Michigan does not border Lake Ontario . New York and Wisconsin 's jurisdictions extend into two lakes , and the remaining states into one of the lakes . </P>
which great lake lies entirely in the us
which great lake lies entirely in the us
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan