Part 1 - Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface
Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface is a 5 part special that was made by WKYC. The series takes a look at social, economic, and environmental issues that
impacted Lake Erie in the past, how these issues impact the lake today, and how they are expected to shape Lake Erie's future.

It is the 11th largest lake on earth. Within its currents flows the story of where we've been and where we are headed.

Lake Erie. It is the greatest natural resource in our region, but its fate and our future are anything but certain.

First a perspective on just how great these Great Lakes are. If you stood on the moon, you could see them outlined against the Earth. The
Great Lakes were carved out by retreating glaciers 12,000 years ago. Lake Erie was the first to form. The Great Lakes contain 1/5th of the
world's fresh water and represent 95% of America's fresh water supply.

In 1800, about 300,000 people lived around the Great Lakes, most of them centered around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Prosperity and population were further spurred by the man-made Erie Canal which connected the Great Lakes and Ohio to the Atlantic Ocean,
providing a conduit for international shipping to and from the heart of America.

That central location helped ports such as Cleveland's to become centers for steel manufacturers, oil and shipbuilders. Cleveland helped supply
essential goods during the 1940's , World War Two, and beyond. Lake Erie and all the Great Lakes served as a transportation system that made
the rise of modern America possible.

Under the water's surface was treasure in the form of fish. Commercial fishing here produced more tons of fish per year than any other Great
Lake. It's a staggering haul considering Lake Erie is the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes, at 241 miles long and 57 miles wide and an
average depth of 60 feet.

But with so much going for Lake Erie and the region, over-fishing, pollution, and destruction of habitat have taken their toll.

Cleaning up the lake, however, in the past few decades has been a big part of the agenda for saving not just the lake itself, but the region.
Many see the lake as our greatest asset for travel and tourism---industries that are overtaking the manufacturing base of the past.
On the surface, it looks like any other body of water. Yet the 11th largest lake
on Earth has a deeper story to tell.
See the raise and fall of commercial fish, and the start of industry on Lake Erie.
The Cuyahoga River burns and the environmental future of Lake Erie is
uncertain.
As Northeast Ohio industry levels out, some think it will be replaced by travel,
tourism and recreation. It may have a long way to go, but it also has a lot to
offer.