The Midwest and Great Lakes Washington Oregon Montana North Dakota Minnesota New Hampshire Vermont Maine Idaho South Dakota Wisconsin Wyoming Michigan New York Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut Nevada Nebraska Iowa Utah Colorado Illinois Indiana Pennsylvania Ohio California Arizona New Mexico Kansas Missouri Kentucky Oklahoma Arkansas Tennessee New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D C West Virginia Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Texas Alabama Mississippi Georgia Louisiana Florida The Midwest region is called the heartland of America The region got the name because it is in the center or heart of the United States The Midwest is located between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains The Ohio River borders on the south Canada borders on the north States that fall in the Midwest region are Ohio Indiana Illinois Missouri Iowa Minnesota Wisconsin and Michigan Parts of Kansas and Nebraska are considered part of the Midwest as well 4
Iowa Farm Lake Huron The Midwest and Great Lakes regions have farmland lakes coasts and forests Sleeping Bear Beach Michigan Black Bear in Northern Michigan 5
The Great Lakes region borders the Midwest The five Great Lakes are Superior Michigan Huron Erie and Ontario Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is entirely in the U S The other four Great Lakes share a border with Canada Rivers and canals connect the lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico Lake Ontario Toronto Canada The Great Lakes form the world’s largest body of fresh water The U S and Canada work together to care for these lakes Both countries have passed clean water laws The laws protect the lakes from pollution The Great Lakes provide drinking water for many people The laws also protect animals and their habitats 6
ONTARIO MINNESOTA LAKE SUPERIOR CANADA QUÉBEC MICHIGAN Georgian Bay WISCONSIN LAKE HURON LAKE ONTARIO LAKE MICHIGAN USA NEW YORK IOWA LAKE ERIE ILLINOIS PENNSYLVANIA INDIANA OHIO Lake Superior Lake Michigan Lake Huron Lake Erie Lake Ontario Surface Area 31 700 square miles 82 000 square kilometers 2 900 cubic miles 12 000 cubic kilometers 22 300 square 23 000 square miles miles 58 000 square 60 000 square kilometers kilometers 1 180 cubic miles 850 cubic miles 180 cubic miles 850 cubic miles 4 900 cubic 3 500 cubic kilometers kilometers 9 910 square miles 25 700 square kilometers 116 cubic miles 480 cubic kilo meters 7 340 square miles 19 000 square kilometers 393 cubic miles 1 640 cubic kilometers Water Volume Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes Next in size are Michigan and Huron Lake Erie contains the least amount of water and Lake Ontario has the smallest area
