<P> In 2009, the lakes contained 84% of the surface freshwater of North America; if the water were evenly distributed over the entire continent's land area, it would reach a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet). The source of water levels in the lakes is tied to what was left by melting glaciers when the lakes took their present form . Annually, only about 1% is "new" water originating from rivers, precipitation, and groundwater springs that drain into the lakes . Historically, evaporation has been balanced by drainage, making the level of the lakes constant . While the lake levels have been preserved, intensive human population growth only began in the region in the 20th century and continues today . At least two human water use activities have been identified as having the potential to affect the lakes' levels: diversion (the transfer of water to other watersheds) and consumption (substantially done today by the use of lake water to power and cool electric generation plants, resulting in evaporation). </P> <P> The water level of Lake Michigan--Huron had remained fairly constant over the 20th century, but has nevertheless dropped more than 6 feet from the record high in 1986 to the low of 2013 . One newspaper reported that the long - term average level has gone down about 20 inches because of dredging and subsequent erosion in the St. Clair River . Lake Michigan--Huron hit all - time record low levels in 2013; according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the previous record low had been set in 1964 . By April 2015 the water level had recovered to 7 inches (17.5 cm) more than the "long term monthly average". </P> <Dl> <Dt> Lake Erie </Dt> <Dd> From the Erie tribe, a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan "long tail". </Dd> <Dt> Lake Huron </Dt> <Dd> The native Wyandot originally referred to the lake by the name karegnondi, a word which has been variously translated as "Freshwater Sea", "Lake of the Hurons", or simply "lake". The first French explorers in the area named the lake after the inhabitants of the area, the Wyandot or "Hurons". </Dd> <Dt> Lake Michigan </Dt> <Dd> From the Ojibwa word mishi - gami "great water" or "large lake". </Dd> <Dt> Lake Ontario </Dt> <Dd> From the Wyandot (Huron) word ontarí'io "lake of shining waters". </Dd> <Dt> Lake Superior </Dt> <Dd> English translation of the French term lac supérieur "upper lake", referring to its position north of Lake Huron . The indigenous Ojibwe call it gichi - gami (from Ojibwe gichi "big, large, great"; gami "water, lake, sea"). Popularized in French - influenced transliteration as Gitchigumi as in Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 story song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, or Gitchee Gumee as in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha). </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> From the Erie tribe, a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan "long tail". </Dd>

How did the great lakes get their name
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