Cuyahoga Valley: Lake Erie Physiography

+ Lake Erie

Lake Erie is Greater Cleveland's and Ohio's greatest natural resource and provides tremendous natural and economic benefits. It has provided many advantages for Cuyahoga County such as a shipping transportation hub, a virtually unlimited supply of drinking water and a priceless natural amenity with its beauty and many recreation uses.

Biological Integrity. The Lake is a large and relatively shallow body of fresh water. The average depth of Lake Erie is approximately 60 feet and the near shore areas are much shallower. Because of this relatively shallow depth it is the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes. But this relatively shallow depth also makes it the most susceptible to negative impacts from outside sources. The greatest threats to the biological integrity of Lake Erie are from non-native species, changes in nutrient concentrations such as phosphorous, and land use changes which reduce the availability of good quality habitat.

Shoreline. Because of its size Lake Erie has many of the characteristics of the open ocean, such as fierce storms that are a hazard to navigation. Strong wave action generated by storms also causes coastal erosion and flooding. Shoreline hardening through the construction of sheet piling, rip rap or other erosion control structures has a number of negative impacts. In addition to destroying habitat for fish and birds, it disrupts subtle biological communities that depend upon the transport of shoreline sediment by lake currents. Shoreline hardening can also increase erosion of down current areas that have lost the protection of the sediment now lacking because of shoreline hardening. The Lake has lost most of the extensive marginal wetlands that it once had and this has intensified the decline in water quality.

Water Quality. The primary causes of declining water quality are pollutants and sediment from the land. Solutions involve the control of individual point sources of pollution discharge, and better land use and storm water management practices throughout the Lake's watersheds. Because the Lake is relatively shallow, opportunities exist for recreating wetlands protected by artificial islands. Future confined fill areas might also be configured to provide protected areas to create coastal wetlands.

		Physiography, also called geomorphology, is the study of land surface features. The Physiographic Map shows the landform patterns that make up the Cuyahoga Valley and its surroundings.

		+ Lake Erie Lake Erie is Greater Cleveland's and Ohio's greatest natural resource and provides tremendous natural and economic benefits. It has provided many advantages for Cuyahoga County such as a shipping transportation hub, a virtually unlimited supply of drinking water and a priceless natural amenity with its beauty and many recreation uses. Biological Integrity. The Lake is a large and relatively shallow body of fresh water. The average depth of Lake Erie is approximately 60 feet and the near shore areas are much shallower. Because of this relatively shallow depth it is the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes. But this relatively shallow depth also makes it the most susceptible to negative impacts from outside sources. The greatest threats to the biological integrity of Lake Erie are from non-native species, changes in nutrient concentrations such as phosphorous, and land use changes which reduce the availability of good quality habitat. Shoreline. Because of its size Lake Erie has many of the characteristics of the open ocean, such as fierce storms that are a hazard to navigation. Strong wave action generated by storms also causes coastal erosion and flooding. Shoreline hardening through the construction of sheet piling, rip rap or other erosion control structures has a number of negative impacts. In addition to destroying habitat for fish and birds, it disrupts subtle biological communities that depend upon the transport of shoreline sediment by lake currents. Shoreline hardening can also increase erosion of down current areas that have lost the protection of the sediment now lacking because of shoreline hardening. The Lake has lost most of the extensive marginal wetlands that it once had and this has intensified the decline in water quality. Water Quality. The primary causes of declining water quality are pollutants and sediment from the land. Solutions involve the control of individual point sources of pollution discharge, and better land use and storm water management practices throughout the Lake's watersheds. Because the Lake is relatively shallow, opportunities exist for recreating wetlands protected by artificial islands. Future confined fill areas might also be configured to provide protected areas to create coastal wetlands.