Great Lakes region

The Great Lakes region of <a href="/facts/Northern_America/100UVzV1">Northern America</a> is a binational <a href="/facts/Canada/cWWFM8oc">Canadian</a>–<a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">American</a> region centered on the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes/Fd7pDkPX">Great Lakes</a> that includes the <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">U.S. states</a> of <a href="/facts/Illinois/MuPb1Ctn">Illinois</a>, <a href="/facts/Indiana/VRnvjXoQ">Indiana</a>, <a href="/facts/Michigan/bCurmfT2">Michigan</a>, <a href="/facts/Minnesota/ncgVuC4Q">Minnesota</a>, <a href="/facts/New_York_(state)/mnl67G1G">New York</a>, <a href="/facts/Ohio/YutCnTlh">Ohio</a>, <a href="/facts/Pennsylvania/HGqC5bBm">Pennsylvania</a>, and <a href="/facts/Wisconsin/XvyqH6vN">Wisconsin</a> and the <a href="/facts/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada/k3o89TLx">Canadian province</a> of <a href="/facts/Ontario/HUkxk5Rf">Ontario</a>. It encompasses both the <a href="/facts/Upper_Midwest/sHIbgvWq">Upper Midwest</a> and parts of the <a href="/facts/Mid-Atlantic_(United_States)/DTl6eo5b">Mid-Atlantic</a>. Canada's <a href="/facts/Quebec/4hhNvb4t">Quebec</a> province is at times included as part of the region because the <a href="/facts/St._Lawrence_River/5DvCUBp4">St. Lawrence River</a> watershed is part of the continuous hydrologic system. The region forms a distinctive historical, economic, and cultural identity. A portion of the region also encompasses the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes_megalopolis/vbzcgIXJ">Great Lakes megalopolis</a>.
State and provincial governments are represented in the <a href="/facts/Conference_of_Great_Lakes_and_St._Lawrence_Governors_and_Premiers/QeBE3jq1">Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers</a>, which also serves as the Secretariat to the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes-St._Lawrence_River_Basin_Water_Resources_Compact/07zKnz57">Great Lakes St. Lawrence Compact</a> and the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes%E2%80%93Saint_Lawrence_River_Basin_Sustainable_Water_Resources_Agreement/CaEto2rr">Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement</a>.
The Great Lakes region takes its name from the corresponding <a href="/facts/Geological/WGvVRIYF">geological</a> formation of the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes_Basin/nszS9yI1">Great Lakes Basin</a>, a narrow watershed encompassing the Great Lakes, bounded by watersheds to the region's north by the <a href="/facts/Hudson_Bay/KApYeskW">Hudson Bay</a>, to the west by the <a href="/facts/Mississippi_River/RduarPzj">Mississippi</a>, and to the east and south by the <a href="/facts/Ohio_River/wSAPrwfS">Ohio</a>. To the east, the rivers of <a href="/facts/St._Lawrence_River/5DvCUBp4">St. Lawrence</a>, <a href="/facts/Richelieu_River/BTpPbQmk">Richelieu</a>, <a href="/facts/Hudson_River/dGgu7VFE">Hudson</a>, <a href="/facts/Mohawk_River/XY9j0D1K">Mohawk</a> and <a href="/facts/Susquehanna_River/wfJRM2YD">Susquehanna</a> form an arc of watersheds east to the <a href="/facts/Atlantic_Ocean/EI4uChIb">Atlantic</a>.
The Great Lakes region, as distinct from the <a href="/facts/Great_Lakes_Basin/nszS9yI1">Great Lakes Basin</a>, defines a unit of sub-national political entities defined by the U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario encompassing the Great Lakes watershed, and the states and province bordering one or more of the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes region open-in-new

Great Lakes region