One of the five Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the world. It is also the deepest, the highest above sea level, and the farthest north and west of the Great Lakes. Early French fur traders gave the name Lac Superieur, which is French for "Upper Lake," to the lake.
Lake Superior covers 31,800 square miles, an area greater than the size of South Carolina. It lies across the international border between the United States and Canada. The Canadian province of Ontario is on the north and east of the lake. Michigan and Wisconsin lie to the south, and Minnesota to the west. It is over 1300 feet deep at its deepest point.
Major ports on Lake Superior include Duluth in Minnesota, and Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, which is actually on the St. Maries River connecting Lake Superior to Lake Huron.