Great Lakes' ecosystem bigger than Texas?

[arabianights]

hi,

I was watching PBS's Nature program last night, latest episode is about Niagara Falls. at the beginning, it claimed that Great lakes ecosystem is bigger than state of Texas. I had to check the fact after hearing this statement: it certainly doesn't mean the total area, given Great lakes surface area is about 224,000 km^2, so how to interpret the meaning of ecosystem?

Video Link is below.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/about-niagara-falls/28649/

 

[Astronuc]

The Great Lakes ecosystem would include the Lakes, many rivers and streams flowing into the Lakes, parts of the St Lawrence Seaway, and "more than 530,000 acres of coastal wetlands and the world's largest freshwater delta (in Lake St. Clair)."

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Wild-Places/Great-Lakes

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/great-lakes-ecoregion

The Great Lakes system offsite link includes five large lakes, one small lake, four connecting channels, and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The large lakes are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/facts-and-figures-about-great-lakes

Texas has an area of approximately 268,820 square miles (696,241 km²), while the area of the Great Lakes ecoregion is at least 220,000 sq miles. Some sites put Texas's land area at ~268600 sq miles.

https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/education/texas-did-you-know
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas

The five Great Lakes have a nominal surface area of 94,250 square miles (244,106 km2).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes

But then one has to add the wetlands and related features. Some might include the entire state of Michigan, about half of Wisconsin and northeastern part of Minnesota, as well as coastal areas of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada, that border one or more of the lakes.

 

[pinball1970]

Just an aside, an area like the state of Texas is a simple 2D calculation, whereas a lake and the Eco system within it is 3D.

 

[BillTre]

Just an aside, an area like the state of Texas is a simple 2D calculation, whereas a lake and the Eco system within it is 3D.

Squash it down I guess.

 

[arabianights]

I found an article about the Great Lakes drainage area, it's easier to understand than size of ecosystems.

'The Great Lakes have an area of 244,000 square kilometres, with a total drainage area of 745,600 square kilometres.'

https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/the-great-lakes#:~:text=The Great Lakes are a very important water,a total drainage area of 745,600 square kilometres.

 

[TeethWhitener]

Squash it down I guess.

But what will become of the Sears Willis Tower?

 

[Astronuc]

with a total drainage area of 745,600 square kilometres.'

The area associated with Quebec should probably be removed as it is well downstream from Lake Ontario; the downstream portion of the St Lawrence rivers receives water from the Madawaska and Ottawa River drainage areas, and further downstream from the Richelieu River drainage area and Lake Champlain, and various streams. Certainly the Madawaska and Ottawa River systems probably receive some precipitation from the evaporation from the Great Lakes.

https://ijc.org/en/loslrb/watershed/map

https://www.glslcompactcouncil.org/about/about-the-great-lakes-st-lawrence-basin/