document_title: Royal Rumble

question_text: who won the 30 man royal rumble match

question_tokens: who won the 30 man royal rumble match

text: Royal Rumble

text: History

text: Event

text: The Royal Rumble is a pay-per-view consisting of the Royal Rumble match, title matches, and various other matches. The first Royal Rumble event took place on January 24, 1988, and was broadcast live on the USA Network.[4] The following year, the event started to be broadcast on pay-per-view[5] and thus became one of WWE's "big four" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and SummerSlam.[6]

text: The men's Royal Rumble match is usually located at the top of the card, though there have been exceptions, such as the 1988, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013, and 2018 events.[7] Due to the Rumble match taking up a large amount of time (most Rumble matches last roughly one hour), the Rumble event tends to have a smaller card than most other pay-per-view events, which routinely have six to eight matches per card. The 2008 Royal Rumble was the first WWE pay-per-view to be available in high-definition.[8] The 2018 Royal Rumble was the first to feature a women's Royal Rumble match, which was the main event for that year.

text: Match

text: The Royal Rumble is based on the classic Battle Royal match, in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor.[1][2][9] The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.[1][10] According to Hornswoggle, who worked for WWE from 2006 until 2016 and participated in two Rumbles, participants may learn their eliminations by knowing the two wrestlers who are eliminated before them and which wrestlers are entering the Royal Rumble in between their elimination.[11]

text: The Royal Rumble differs from the classical Battle Royal as the contestants do not enter the ring at the same time, but instead are assigned entry numbers, usually via a lottery, although desirable spots are occasionally assigned by other means, the most common being winning a match. This lottery is usually staged right before the event begins.[1] The match begins with the two wrestlers who have drawn entry numbers one and two, with the remaining wrestlers entering the ring at regular timed intervals, either 90 seconds or two minutes, according to their entry number.[1] This format is credited to Pat Patterson.[12] To date, only four men who have been one of the starting wrestlers have won the Royal Rumble: Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Chris Benoit, and Rey Mysterio. The most common number to win is number 27.

text: The Royal Rumble match traditionally involves 30 wrestlers and usually lasts an hour, with the longest match, at the 2011 event, lasting over one hour and nine minutes of a three-hour pay-per-view.[13] However, the first televised Rumble match, contested in 1988, involved only 20 men,[14] and lasted 33 minutes of the two-hour broadcast.[13] The 1998 Royal Rumble nominally had the traditional 30-man field, but only 28 individual wrestlers competed; Mick Foley entered the Royal Rumble match three different times—first as Cactus Jack, then as Mankind, and finally as Dude Love.[15] The 2011 Royal Rumble was the first and only to have a 40-man field,[16] out of whom Alberto Del Rio was victorious. The 2018 Royal Rumble was the first to feature a women's Royal Rumble match, with Stephanie McMahon making the official announcement on the December 18, 2017 edition of Raw.[17] The women's Royal Rumble match has all of the same rules as the men's match, including having 30 participants.[18][19]

text: The match has no stipulations or rules other than that elimination must occur by a participant being placed over the top rope and both feet touching the floor. A wrestler who only touches the floor with one foot is not eliminated from the match, a rule which greatly affected the 1995 match, allowing Shawn Michaels to re-enter the ring and win the match. This has been popularized by Kofi Kingston, who although has not won a match, he has found various ways to keep both of his feet from touching the floor.[20] Subsequently, a wrestler who exits the ring without going over the top rope is not eliminated from the contest. For example, during the 1999 match, both Vince McMahon and Steve Austin left the ring, only to return later in the match.[21] In the 1994 match, the last two participants, Bret Hart and Lex Luger, were declared co-winners when it was decided that both of their feet touched the floor at exactly the same time.[22] A similar situation occurred in the 2005 match. However, the match was instead restarted after Batista and John Cena eliminated each other at the same time (as their simultaneous elimination was actually an accident); Batista eliminated Cena afterwards to win the match.[23] Though various referees are charged with observing the match, some eliminations have gone unnoticed to allow the eliminated participants to sneak back into the ring to continue. Steve Austin was able to win in this way during the 1997 match after re-entering following an unacknowledged elimination and eventually tossed Bret Hart, who was the last legal wrestler in the ring, over the top.[24]

text: Although the vast majority of eliminations are caused by active participants, eliminations caused by other means have occurred, and have been ruled legitimate, including self-eliminations (such as Andre the Giant jumping out of the ring after seeing a snake in 1989, Kane eliminating himself in 1999, and Drew Carey eliminating himself in 2001; however, Randy Savage's jump over the top rope in 1992 was not ruled as self-elimination), elimination from previously-eliminated participants (such as The Undertaker eliminating Maven in 2002, Kurt Angle eliminating Shawn Michaels in 2005, Kane eliminating CM Punk in 2014, and The Wyatt Family eliminating Brock Lesnar in 2016), and elimination from non-participants (such as Shane McMahon eliminating Shawn Michaels in 2006 and The Miz eliminating John Cena in 2011). Furthermore, if an injured wrestler is taken away by medical staff, he can return to the match as long as the match is still ongoing (such as Steve Austin in 1999 or Roman Reigns in 2016), but if the match ends without the injured wrestler returning, he is deemed eliminated (such as Scotty 2 Hotty in 2005 or Curtis Axel in 2015).

text: Prize

text: Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match is traditionally awarded a title match for WWE's top championship at WrestleMania – presently, there are two top championships, the Universal Championship on Raw and the WWE Championship on SmackDown.[25] Similarly, the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match (first contested in 2018) is awarded a match at WrestleMania for either of WWE's top two women's championships, the Raw Women's Championship or the SmackDown Women's Championship.[17]

text: With the brand extension introduced in mid-2002, the 30 male entrants from 2003 to 2006 consisted of 15 wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brands. At first, the winner of the match received a shot at their brand's top champion.[26] Starting in 2004, the Rumble winner had the option of challenging any brand's champion. For instance, Chris Benoit switched brands after winning the 2004 Royal Rumble and won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX.[25] From 2007 to 2010, participants from the ECW brand competed along with the Raw and SmackDown brands, with the ECW World Championship added as an option for the winner to challenge for, although no winners ever did.[27] During ECW's participation, the entries for each brand were not evenly divided.[28] The ECW Championship was deactivated in 2010, and the World Heavyweight Championship was unified into the WWE Championship in 2013, leaving the latter as the only title to challenge for until July 2016, when the brand extension returned. With the new brand extension, the winner of the 2017 event earned a match for their brand's top championship, Raw's Universal Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship, but beginning in 2018, the winner has a choice. Conversely, beginning with the 2018 event, women receive a title opportunity of their choice for a women's championship: the Raw or SmackDown Women's Championship. Due to free agents, Hall of Famers, and wrestlers from the NXT brand also participating, there has not been an even division of wrestlers (in either the men's or women's Rumbles) between Raw and SmackDown since the second brand extension went into effect.

text: WWE's top championship has been booked as on the line during the Royal Rumble match on two occasions. In 1992, the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship was contested in the 1992 Royal Rumble match, eventually won by Ric Flair,[29] while in 2016, Roman Reigns was scheduled to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a participant of that year's Royal Rumble match and was entrant number one. This marked the first time that a reigning champion had to defend his title in the match, which was ultimately won by Triple H, who eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Dean Ambrose to win. Reigns would go on to earn a match against Triple H at WrestleMania 32 and won back the title.

text: From 2001 to 2007, the Royal Rumble match winner had gone on to win a world championship title at WrestleMania.[13] After winning the 2008 match, John Cena became the first winner to use his championship opportunity at an event (No Way Out 2008) other than WrestleMania.[30] He also became the first since The Rock in 2000 to win the Royal Rumble match but fail to win the title in his championship opportunity.

text: The Royal Rumble winner may also choose to put his championship opportunity on the line in a match. This was first done in 1996, when Shawn Michaels risked his WrestleMania XII title shot in a match against Owen Hart at In Your House 6. The second time was in 1999, when Stone Cold Steve Austin offered to forfeit his title opportunity to the Big Boss Man, who won third place in the Rumble (Austin was actually the runner-up in that rumble, but the winner, Vince McMahon himself, had voluntarily given up his title opportunity) if McMahon could beat him in a cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, which Austin would go on to win. The third time was in 2002, when Kurt Angle convinced Triple H to put his WrestleMania X8 championship spot on the line at No Way Out, a match which Angle won. However, Triple H would later defeat Angle and regain his WrestleMania championship spot. The fourth time was in 2006, when Randy Orton goaded Rey Mysterio into putting his main event spot at WrestleMania 22 on the line at No Way Out, a match which Orton won. Mysterio was eventually reinserted into the main event at WrestleMania, making it a triple threat match, and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the February 25, 2013, edition of Raw, John Cena successfully defended his WrestleMania 29 WWE Championship opportunity in a match against CM Punk. On February 22, 2015, at Fastlane, Roman Reigns defended his WrestleMania 31 WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Daniel Bryan.

text: In 2000, The Rock was declared the victor, as the storyline intended. However, it was later revealed that his feet had actually touched before those of the Big Show. A singles match was held at No Way Out, the event following the Royal Rumble, to determine who received the WrestleMania title shot against the reigning champion Triple H. Big Show won with the help of Shane McMahon. Rock then defeated Big Show in a rematch in March on Raw with the help of Vince McMahon, which earned him a title shot and converted the match at WrestleMania into a triple threat that was later made a four-way match when Linda McMahon inserted the recently retired Mick Foley into the match.

text: Other Royal Rumble matches

text: WWE has booked several Royal Rumble matches outside of the annual Royal Rumble event:

text:
The very first Royal Rumble match took place at a house show in St. Louis, Missouri on October 4, 1987 where the One Man Gang won a 12-Man Royal Rumble, last eliminating the Junkyard Dog, to earn a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match against Hulk Hogan at the following month's St. Louis house show.
A 20-man Royal Rumble match took place at a house show in Hartford, Connecticut on March 16, 1988 where Ravishing Rick Rude was the winner.
A 30-man Royal Rumble on January 17, 1994 at Madison Square Garden was won by Owen Hart, last eliminating Fatu.
An 18-man Royal Rumble match took place on May 9, 1994 in Osaka, Japan and was won by The Undertaker who last eliminated Bam Bam Bigelow.
There was a Tag Team Royal Rumble on the June 15, 1998 episode of Raw Is War. Kane and Mankind won the match and earned an opportunity for the WWF Tag Team Championship against The New Age Outlaws.
On January 11, 1999, a "Corporate Royal Rumble" involving members of The Corporation and D-Generation X was held on Raw to determine the 30th entry in the Royal Rumble that year. The match was won by Chyna, who last eliminated Mr. McMahon.
A 15-man Royal Rumble was held during the January 29, 2004, edition of SmackDown to crown a contender for Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship at No Way Out. Eddie Guerrero won the match, last eliminating Kurt Angle.
On January 14, 2008, Mr. McMahon organized a mini-Royal Rumble, involving midget wrestlers. Hornswoggle won the match.
On the January 31, 2011, episode of Raw, a Royal Rumble to crown the contender for The Miz's WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber was held. Jerry Lawler won the match, last eliminating Sheamus.
On April 27, 2018, the WWE is going to hold a pay-per-view in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia titled the Greatest Royal Rumble, which is going to feature a 50-man Royal Rumble match.[31]

tag: ul

text: Dates, venues, and winners

text:
List of Royal Rumble dates, venues, and winners

Event
Date
City
Venue
Winner
Entry No.
Ref.
Main event

01 !1
Royal Rumble (1988)
January 24, 1988
Hamilton, Ontario
Copps Coliseum
Duggan, JimJim Duggan
13 !13
[32][33]
The Islanders (Haku and Tama) vs. The Young Stallions (Paul Roma and Jim Powers) in a two out of three falls match

02 !2
Royal Rumble (1989)
January 15, 1989
Houston, Texas
The Summit
Studd, Big JohnBig John Studd
27 !27
[34][35]
30-man Royal Rumble match

03 !3
Royal Rumble (1990)
January 21, 1990
Orlando, Florida
Orlando Arena
Hogan, HulkHulk Hogan
25 !25
[36][37]
30-man Royal Rumble match

04 !4
Royal Rumble (1991)
January 19, 1991
Miami, Florida
Miami Arena
24 !24
[38][39]
30-man Royal Rumble match

05 !5
Royal Rumble (1992)
January 19, 1992
Albany, New York
Knickerbocker Arena
Flair, RicRic Flair
03 !3
[40][41]
30-man Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship

06 !6
Royal Rumble (1993)
January 24, 1993
Sacramento, California
ARCO Arena
Yokozuna
27 !27
[42][43]
30-man Royal Rumble match

07 !7
Royal Rumble (1994)
January 23, 1994
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence Civic Center
Bret Hart
Lex Luger
27 !27
23 !23
[44][45]
30-man Royal Rumble match

08 !8
Royal Rumble (1995)
January 22, 1995
Tampa, Florida
USF Sun Dome
Michaels, ShawnShawn Michaels
01 !1
[46][47]
30-man Royal Rumble match

09 !9
Royal Rumble (1996)
January 21, 1996
Fresno, California
Selland Arena
18 !18
[48][49]
Bret Hart (c) vs. The Undertaker for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

10 !10
Royal Rumble (1997)
January 19, 1997
San Antonio, Texas
Alamodome
Stone Cold Steve Austin
05 !5
[50][51]
Sycho Sid (c) vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

11 !11
Royal Rumble (1998)
January 18, 1998
San Jose, California
San Jose Arena
24 !24
[52][53][54]
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. The Undertaker in a Casket match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

12 !12
Royal Rumble (1999)
January 24, 1999
Anaheim, California
Arrowhead Pond
Mr. McMahon
02 !2
[55][56][57]
30-man Royal Rumble match

13 !13
Royal Rumble (2000)
January 23, 2000
New York City, New York
Madison Square Garden
Rock, TheThe Rock
24 !24
[58][59][60]
30-man Royal Rumble match

14 !14
Royal Rumble (2001)
January 21, 2001
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans Arena
Stone Cold Steve Austin
27 !27
[61][62][63]
30-man Royal Rumble match

15 !15
Royal Rumble (2002)
January 20, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia
Philips Arena
Triple H
22 !22
[64][65][66]
30-man Royal Rumble match

16 !16
Royal Rumble (2003)
January 19, 2003
Boston, Massachusetts
FleetCenter
Lesnar, BrockBrock Lesnar
29 !29
[67][68]
30-man Royal Rumble match

17 !17
Royal Rumble (2004)
January 25, 2004
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wachovia Center
Chris Benoit
01 !1
[69][70][71]
30-man Royal Rumble match

18 !18
Royal Rumble (2005)
January 30, 2005
Fresno, California
Save Mart Center
Batista
28 !28
[72][73][74]
30-man Royal Rumble match

19 !19
Royal Rumble (2006)
January 29, 2006
Miami, Florida
American Airlines Arena
Mysterio, ReyRey Mysterio
02 !2
[75][76][77]
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship

20 !20
Royal Rumble (2007)
January 28, 2007
San Antonio, Texas
AT&T Center
Undertaker, TheThe Undertaker
30 !30
[78][79][80]
30-man Royal Rumble match

21 !21
Royal Rumble (2008)
January 27, 2008
New York City, New York
Madison Square Garden
Cena, JohnJohn Cena
30 !30
[81][82][83]
30-man Royal Rumble match

22 !22
Royal Rumble (2009)
January 25, 2009
Detroit, Michigan
Joe Louis Arena
Orton, RandyRandy Orton
08 !8
[84][85]
30-man Royal Rumble match

23 !23
Royal Rumble (2010)
January 31, 2010
Atlanta, Georgia
Philips Arena
Edge
29
[86][87]
30-man Royal Rumble match

24 !24
Royal Rumble (2011)
January 30, 2011
Boston, Massachusetts
TD Garden
Del Rio, AlbertoAlberto Del Rio
38
[88]
40-man Royal Rumble match

25 !25
Royal Rumble (2012)
January 29, 2012
St. Louis, Missouri
Scottrade Center
Sheamus
22
[89][90][91]
30-man Royal Rumble match

26 !26
Royal Rumble (2013)
January 27, 2013
Phoenix, Arizona
US Airways Center
Cena, JohnJohn Cena
19
[92][93][94]
CM Punk (c) vs. The Rock for the WWE Championship

27 !27
Royal Rumble (2014)
January 26, 2014
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Consol Energy Center
Batista
28
[95][96]
30-man Royal Rumble match

28 !28
Royal Rumble (2015)
January 25, 2015
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wells Fargo Center
Reigns, RomanRoman Reigns
19
[97]
30-man Royal Rumble match

29 !29
Royal Rumble (2016)
January 24, 2016
Orlando, Florida
Amway Center
Triple H
30
[98][99]
30-man Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship; reigning champion Roman Reigns defended the title in the match

30 !30
Royal Rumble (2017)
January 29, 2017
San Antonio, Texas
Alamodome
Randy Orton
23
[100]
30-man Royal Rumble match

31 !31
Royal Rumble (2018)
January 28, 2018
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wells Fargo Center
Shinsuke Nakamura
14
[101][102]
30-woman Royal Rumble match

Asuka
25
[103][104]

32
Royal Rumble (2019)
January 27, 2019
Phoenix, Arizona
Chase Field
TBD Men
TBD
[105]
TBD

TBD Women
TBD
[105]

text: Male Royal Rumble winner's championship opportunity

text:
Championship
Wins
Losses
Total

WWE Championship
9
8
17

World Heavyweight Championship
5
2
7

Total
13
10
23

text:
Winner
Event
Year
Championship match

01 !1
Yokozuna
WrestleMania IX
1993
Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

02 !2
Lex Luger
WrestleMania X
1994
Luger lost to Yokozuna by disqualification for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

02 !2
Bret Hart
WrestleMania X
1994
Hart defeated Yokozuna for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

03 !3
Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania XI
1995
Michaels lost to Diesel for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

04 !4
Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania XII
1996
Michaels successfully defended his title shot against Owen Hart at In Your House 6. Michaels went on to defeat Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

05 !5
Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania 13
1997
Due to Austin re-entering the Rumble match because the officials did not see when he was thrown out of the ring, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon ruled that he would not be receiving the WrestleMania 13 title shot. A match in February was signed to determine who would receive it, but champion Shawn Michaels' forfeiting the title changed those plans. The WrestleMania main event pitted The Undertaker against Sycho Sid.

06 !6
Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania XIV
1998
Austin defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

07 !7
Mr. McMahon
WrestleMania XV
1999
The following night on Raw Is War, McMahon renounced his title opportunity to challenge then WWF Champion, The Rock, at WrestleMania. WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded the title opportunity to the runner-up, Stone Cold Steve Austin, who defeated McMahon in a steel cage match to retain his opportunity and would go on to WrestleMania to defeat The Rock for the WWF Championship.

08 !8
The Rock
WrestleMania 2000
2000
Video footage later showed Rock's feet hit the floor first before runner-up Big Show. After multiple attempts to name a rightful No. 1 contender failed, both The Rock and Big Show were added to the main event along with Mick Foley to challenge the champion Triple H. Triple H was able to successfully defend the WWF Championship in a four corner elimination match.

09 !9
Stone Cold Steve Austin
WrestleMania X-Seven
2001
Austin defeated The Rock in a no disqualification match for the WWF Championship.

10 !10
Triple H
WrestleMania X8
2002
Triple H lost his WrestleMania title shot to Kurt Angle at No Way Out. The following night on Raw, Triple H won his title shot back and would defeat Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWF Championship.

11 !11
Brock Lesnar
WrestleMania XIX
2003
As a member of the SmackDown brand, Lesnar earned a match for his brand's WWE Championship. At WrestleMania XIX, Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship.

12 !12
Chris Benoit
WrestleMania XX
2004
Benoit won the Rumble as a SmackDown! wrestler, but switched to the Raw brand to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

13 !13
Batista
WrestleMania 21
2005
Batista defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.

14 !14
Rey Mysterio
WrestleMania 22
2006
Mysterio lost his WrestleMania title shot to Randy Orton at No Way Out. SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long later added Mysterio to the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania, making it a triple threat match. At WrestleMania 22, Mysterio defeated the champion Kurt Angle and Orton in a triple threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

15 !15
The Undertaker
WrestleMania 23
2007
Undertaker defeated Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship.

16 !16
John Cena
No Way Out (2008)
WrestleMania XXIV
2008
Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, Cena used his WWE Championship shot at No Way Out against Randy Orton. Orton remained champion due to being disqualified. A triple threat match for the WWE Championship was held at WrestleMania XXIV, also including Triple H. Orton successfully retained.

17 !17
Randy Orton
WrestleMania XXV
2009
Orton lost to Triple H for the WWE Championship.

18 !18
Edge
WrestleMania XXVI
2010
Edge lost to Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship.

19 !19
Alberto Del Rio
WrestleMania XXVII
2011
Del Rio lost to Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

20 !20
Sheamus
WrestleMania XXVIII
2012
Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship.

21 !21
John Cena
WrestleMania 29
2013
On the February 25 episode of Raw, Cena successfully defended his title shot against CM Punk. Cena went on to defeat The Rock for the WWE Championship.

22 !22
Batista
WrestleMania XXX
2014
Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H in the opening match, with the winner being inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. Bryan defeated the champion Randy Orton and Batista in a triple threat match.

23 !23
Roman Reigns
WrestleMania 31
2015
Reigns successfully defended his title shot at Fastlane against Daniel Bryan. Reigns went on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. During the match at WrestleMania, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, converting the singles match between Reigns and Lesnar into a triple threat match. Rollins pinned Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

24 !24
Randy Orton
WrestleMania 33
2017
As a member of the SmackDown brand, Orton earned himself a match for his brand's WWE Championship. However, after his fellow Wyatt Family member Bray Wyatt won the championship at Elimination Chamber and retained it on the following SmackDown, Orton said he would not face Wyatt for the title at WrestleMania. On the February 28 episode of SmackDown, Orton reverted his decision and turned on Wyatt; the following week, he defeated AJ Styles, who had become the new number one contender for the title, to re-earn his title shot against Wyatt at WrestleMania. At the event, Orton defeated Wyatt to win the WWE Championship.

25 !25
Shinsuke Nakamura
WrestleMania 34
2018
Nakamura chose to stay on SmackDown and challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, where he ultimately lost the match.

text: Note: There was no WrestleMania title opportunity for the winners of the 1992 and 2016 Royal Rumble matches. In 1992, Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble match, which was for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship. In 2016, Triple H won the Royal Rumble match in which Roman Reigns defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Both ultimately lost their championship defenses at WrestleMania (to Randy Savage and Reigns, respectively).

text: Female Royal Rumble winner's championship opportunity

text:
Championship
Wins
Losses
Total

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
0
1
1

Total
0
1
1

text:
Winner
Event
Year
Championship match

1 !1
Asuka
WrestleMania 34
2018
Asuka decided to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but lost the match, which ended her two-year undefeated streak.

text: Royal Rumble records

text: Males

text: Most Rumble victories

text:
No
Wrestler
Royal Rumble wins
Year

1
Stone Cold Steve Austin
3
1997, 1998, 2001

2
Hulk Hogan
2
1990, 1991

Shawn Michaels
1995, 1996

Triple H
2002, 2016

Batista
2005, 2014

John Cena
2008, 2013

Randy Orton
2009, 2017

text: Most times being a Rumble runner-up

text:
No
Wrestler
Times
Year

1
Roman Reigns
3
2014, 2017, 2018

2
Big Show
2
2000, 2004

Shawn Michaels
1994, 2007

Triple H
2008, 2009

John Cena
2005, 2010

text: Winners by entry number

text:
No
Wins
Year

27
4
1989, 1993, 1994, 2001

30
3
2007, 2008, 2016

24
1991, 1998, 2000

19
2
2013, 2015

28
2005, 2014

22
2002, 2012

29
2003, 2010

2
1999, 2006

1
1995, 2004

23
1994, 2017

14
1
2018

38
2011

8
2009

5
1997

18
1996

3
1992

25
1990

13
1988

text: Longest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

text: Top 20 individual longest times in a single Royal Rumble match. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
Time
Year

1
Rey Mysterio
1:02:12
2006[106]

2
Chris Benoit
1:01:31
2004[106]

3
Bob Backlund
1:01:10
1993[106]

4
Triple H
1:00:16
2006

5
Chris Jericho
1:00:13
2017

6
Ric Flair
1:00:02
1992[106]

7
Roman Reigns
59:50
2016

8
Finn Bálor
57:30
2018

9
Mr. McMahon
56:38
1999

Stone Cold Steve Austin
56:38
1999

11
Kane
53:46
2001

12
Rick Martel
52:17
1991[106]

13
The Rock
51:32
1998

14
Chris Jericho
50:50
2016

15
Triple H
49:58
2009

16
Dolph Ziggler
49:47
2013

17
Rey Mysterio
49:24
2009

18
CM Punk
49:11
2014

19
Seth Rollins
48:31
2014

20
Randy Orton
48:27
2009

text: Note: bold indicates the winner of that year's match

text: Longest cumulative time spent in Royal Rumbles

text: Only wrestlers who have spent more than 3 cumulative hours are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
Time

1
Chris Jericho
4:56:00 [107]

2
Triple H
4:00:02

3
Shawn Michaels
3:42:30[107]

4
Isaac Yankem/Diesel/Kane
3:38:46

5
Rey Mysterio
3:29:25

6
Cody Rhodes/Stardust
3:08:30

7
Randy Orton
3:01:40

text: Shortest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

text: Only wrestlers who spent 10 seconds or less in a single rumble are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
Time
Year

1
Santino Marella
0:00:01
2009[106]

2
The Warlord
0:00:02
1989[106]

Sheamus
0:00:02*
2018

4
Mo
0:00:03
1995[106]

Owen Hart
0:00:03
1995[106]

6
Bushwhacker Luke
0:00:04
1991

Jerry Lawler
0:00:04
1997

Titus O'Neil
0:00:04
2015

9
The Godfather
0:00:05
2013[106]

10
Gillberg
0:00:07
1999

The Miz
0:00:07
2007

Montel Vontavious Porter
0:00:07
2010

13
Adam Rose
0:00:08
2015

14
Tazz
0:00:10
2001

text: (*) - WWE's official source mistakenly reports the time as 20 seconds.

text: Non-eliminated wrestlers

text: Several times, wrestlers were drawn to compete in the match but did not actually compete. Their participation is counted as zero seconds, with the exception of #6 Hornswoggle:

text:
In 1991, "Macho King" Randy Savage was drawn 18th, but no-showed due to leaving the building after costing Ultimate Warrior the WWF Championship against Sgt. Slaughter.
In 1994, Bastion Booger was drawn 25th, but no-showed due to suffering food poisoning before the match.
In 1998, Skull was drawn 22nd, but no-showed due to being attacked by Los Boricuas after being mistaken for Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In 2004, Spike Dudley was drawn 13th, but was attacked on the ramp by Kane.
In 2005, Scotty 2 Hotty was drawn 15th, but was attacked on the ramp by Muhammad Hassan.
In 2008, Hornswoggle was drawn 9th and eliminated The Miz, however he wasn't brought into the ring until towards the end of the match by Mark Henry and was saved by Finlay, who was drawn 27th, and escorted to the back and never re-entered the match. Finlay would later be disqualified after coming out before his number came up and using his shillelagh to help Hornswoggle.
In 2015, Curtis Axel was drawn 6th, but was attacked on the ramp by Erick Rowan. Unlike other occasions, this was notable for actually being worked into a gimmick for Axel, where he began to imitate Hulk Hogan and wear shirts emblazoned with "AxelMania" and claim that he was never eliminated from the Royal Rumble, therefore he won it, deserving a spot in the main event of WrestleMania.

text: Wrestlers who had their number stolen or were replaced

text: Several times, wrestlers were drawn to compete and were instead either attacked backstage or pulled from the match at the last minute, and replaced by other wrestlers.

text:
In 1999, Mosh was drawn 11th, but was attacked by Mabel, who took Mosh's spot.
In 2001, the team of Lo Down (Chaz and D'Lo Brown) defeated Kaientai (Funaki and Taka Michinoku) to earn one entrance spot in the Royal Rumble match, but that was later overturned by Vince McMahon who entered Drew Carey in their spot.
In 2004, Test was drawn 21st, but was attacked by Mick Foley, who took Test's spot.
In 2005, Nunzio was drawn 20th, but was bullied by Kurt Angle before the match, and took Nunzio's spot.
In 2018, Tye Dillinger was drawn 10th, but was attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, the latter of whom took Dillinger's spot.

text: Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble

text: Top wrestlers with most eliminations in a single match. Only wrestlers with at least seven eliminations are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
No. of eliminations
Year

1
Roman Reigns
12
2014[108]

2
Kane
11
2001[106][109]

3
Hulk Hogan
10
1989[106][110]

Stone Cold Steve Austin
10
1997[106][111]

5
Shawn Michaels
8
1995, 1996

Stone Cold Steve Austin
8
1999

7
Hulk Hogan
7
1991

Yokozuna
7
1993

Diesel
7
1994

Stone Cold Steve Austin
7
1998, 2002

Rikishi
7
2000

The Undertaker
7
2002

The Great Khali
7
2007

CM Punk
7
2011

John Cena
7
2011

Braun Strowman
7
2017

text: Total eliminations in cumulative Royal Rumbles

text: Top wrestlers with the most eliminations. Only wrestlers with at least 20 eliminations are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.[112]

text:
No
Wrestler
No. of eliminations
Rumbles entered

1
Isaac Yankem/"Diesel"/Kane
44
19[106][113][114]

2
Shawn Michaels
40
12[115][116]

The Undertaker
40
11

4
The Ringmaster/Stone Cold Steve Austin
36
6[106]

5
Triple H
33
9

6
Big Show
31
12

7
Roman Reigns
30
5

8
Hulk Hogan
27
4

9
John Cena
25
9

10
Randy Orton
22
9

text: Most Rumble appearances

text: Only wrestlers with at least 10 appearances are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
Rumbles entered
First Rumble
Most recent Rumble

1
Isaac Yankem/"Diesel"/Kane
19
1996
2016

3
Shawn Michaels
12
1989
2010

Big Show
2000
2017

Goldust
1997
2018

5
The Miz
11
2007
2018

The Undertaker
1991
2017

The Sultan/Fatu/Rikishi
1993
2004

7
Mabel/Viscera/Big Daddy V
10
1994
2008

Chris Jericho
2000
2017

Kofi Kingston
2009
2018

Dolph Ziggler
2009
2018

text: Female entrants in male Royal Rumbles

text:
No
Wrestler
Rumbles entered

1
Chyna
2 (1999, 2000)[56][59]

2
Beth Phoenix*
1 (2010)[87]

3
Kharma
1 (2012)

text: Only wrestler to appear in both the male and female Royal Rumbles.

text: Females

text: As of the 2018 Royal Rumble, only one match has occurred; the top ten times are shown.

text:
No
Wrestler
Time
Year

1
Sasha Banks
54:46
2018

2
Becky Lynch
30:54
2018

3
Natalya
25:34
2018

4
Asuka
19:41
2018

5
Carmella
18:45
2018

6
Nia Jax
17:56
2018

7
Nikki Bella
16:30
2018

Sarah Logan
16:30
2018

9
Brie Bella
11:58
2018

10
Ruby Riott
11:32
2018

text:
No
Wrestler
Time
Year

1
Vickie Guerrero
00:57
2018

2
Tamina
01:34
2018

3
Jacqueline
01:52
2018

4
Beth Phoenix
02:22
2018

5
Lana
02:54
2018

6
Dana Brooke
02:59
2018

7
Torrie Wilson
03:04
2018

8
Mandy Rose
03:52
2018

9
Molly Holly
04:04
2018

10
Kairi Sane
04:49
2018

text: As only one match has occurred, only wrestlers with at least three eliminations are shown. As of the 2018 Royal Rumble.

text:
No
Wrestler
No. of eliminations
Year

1
Michelle McCool
5
2018

2
Nia Jax
4

Nikki Bella

4
Sasha Banks
3

Asuka

Natalya

Trish Stratus

text: Other Royal Rumble matches

text:
List of Royal Rumble dates, venues, and winners

Event
Date
City
Venue
Winner
Ref.
Note

1
House show
October 4, 1987
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Arena
One Man Gang
[117][118]
12-man Royal Rumble

2
House show
March 16, 1988
Hartford, CT
Hartford Civic Center
Rick Rude
[119][120]
20-man Royal Rumble

3
House show
January 17, 1994
New York City
Madison Square Garden
Owen Hart
[121]
30-man Royal Rumble

4
House show
May 9, 1994
Osaka, Japan
Castle Hall
The Undertaker
[121]
18-man Royal Rumble

5
Raw
June 15, 1998
San Antonio, Texas
Freeman Coliseum
Kane and Mankind
[121]
10-tag team Royal Rumble

6
Raw
January 11, 1999
Houston
Compaq Center
Chyna
[121]
10-man Corporation vs. DX "Corporate Rumble", for the #30 spot in the 1999 Royal Rumble

7
SmackDown!
January 29, 2004
Washington, D.C.
MCI Center
Eddie Guerrero
[122]
15-man SmackDown! Royal Rumble to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at No Way Out

8
Raw
January 14, 2008
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile Civic Center
Hornswoggle
[123]
Mini Royal Rumble; 6-man, all participants were midget wrestlers, with the exception of The Great Khali.

9
Raw
January 31, 2011
Providence, Rhode Island
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Jerry Lawler
[124]
7-man Raw Rumble to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber

10
Greatest Royal Rumble
April 27, 2018
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
King Abdullah International Stadium
TBD
[31][125]
50-man Royal Rumble

text: Video box set

text: In March 2007, WWE released a complete DVD box set titled Royal Rumble: The Complete Anthology, which showcases every Royal Rumble event in its entirety, up to the 2007 Royal Rumble.[126]


document_title: Disk Cleanup

question_text: what does disk cleanup mean on a computer

root

text: Disk Cleanup

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
Disk Cleanup

A component of Microsoft Windows

Screenshot of Disk Cleanup in Windows 10

Details

Type
Disk maintenance application

Included with
Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, 7, Server 2008 R2, 8, 10

Related components

Desktop Cleanup Wizard

text: Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive. The utility first searches and analyzes the hard drive for files that are no longer of any use, and then removes the unnecessary files. There are a number of different file categories that Disk Cleanup targets when performing the initial disk analysis:

tag: p

text:
Compression of old files
Temporary Internet files
Temporary Windows files
Downloaded program files
Recycle Bin
Removal of unused applications or optional Windows components
Setup log files
Offline web pages (cached)
WinSxS (Windows component store)

text: The above list, however, is not exhaustive. For instance, 'Temporary Remote Desktop files' and 'Temporary Sync Files' may appear only under certain computer configurations, differences such as Windows Operating System and use of additional programs such as Remote Desktop. The option of removing hibernation data may not be ideal for some users as this may remove the hibernate option.

text: Aside from removing unnecessary files, users also have the option of compressing files that have not been accessed over a set period of time. This option provides a systematic compression scheme. Infrequently accessed files are compressed to free up disk space while leaving the frequently used files uncompressed for faster read/write access times. If after file compression, a user wishes to access a compressed file, the access times may be increased and vary from system to system. In addition to the categories that appear on the Disk Cleanup tab, the More Options tab offers additional options for freeing up hard drive space through removal of optional Windows components, installed programs, and all but the most recent System Restore point or Shadow Copy data in some versions of Microsoft Windows.


document_title: Avon Park, Florida

question_text: where is avon park florida on the map

question_tokens: where is avon park florida on the map

text: Avon Park, Florida

text: History[edit]

text: The first permanent settler in Avon Park was Oliver Martin Crosby, a Connecticut native who moved to the area in 1884 to study the wildlife of the Everglades. By 1886, enough people had followed that the town of "Lake Forest" was founded. As president of the Florida Development Company, he recruited settlers to the area, many of whom were from England, including many from the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, who gave the town its name.[8]

text: In 2006, then-mayor Thomas Macklin proposed City Ordinance 08-06, which would have blocked the issuance or renewal of city licenses to businesses that hired illegal aliens, fined any property owner who rented and leased property to illegal aliens, and established English as the city's official language, banning the use of other languages during the conduct of official business except where specified under state or federal law.[9] The ordinance was defeated by the city council, on a 3–2 vote.[10]

text: Geography[edit]

text: Avon Park is located in northwestern Highlands County at 27°35′40″N 81°30′12″W / 27.59444°N 81.50333°W / 27.59444; -81.50333 (27.594418, -81.503437).[11] 27/98 is the main highway through the city, leading north 23 miles (37 km) to Lake Wales and south 10 miles (16 km) to Sebring. Florida State Road 17 (Main Street) leads east through the center of Avon Park, then south 10 miles to the center of Sebring. Florida State Road 64 leads west from Avon Park 19 miles (31 km) to Zolfo Springs.

text: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Avon Park has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.2 km2), of which 7.1 square miles (18.5 km2) are land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2), or 12.43%, are water.[3] The city is located in a karst landscape underlain by the limestone Florida Platform, and numerous circular lakes are either within the city limits (Lake Tulane, Lake Verona, and Lake Isis) or border the city (Lake Anoka, Lake Lelia, Lake Glenada, Lake Lotela, Lake Denton, Little Red Water Lake, Pioneer Lake, Lake Brentwood, Lake Byrd, Lake Damon, and Lake Lillian).[12]

text: Demographics[edit]

text:
Historical population

Census
Pop.

%±
1920890—19303,355277.0%19403,125−6.9%19504,61247.6%19606,07331.7%19706,71210.5%19808,02619.6%19908,0420.2%20008,5426.2%20108,8363.4%Est. 201610,259[4]16.1%U.S. Decennial Census[13]

text: At the 2000 census,[5] there were 8,542 people, 3,218 households and 2,114 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,841.8 per square mile (710.8/km2). There were 3,916 housing units at an average density of 844.4 per square mile(325.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 58.90% White, 29.2% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.35% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.71% of the population.

text: There were 3,218 households of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08.

text: Age distribution was 26.5% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

text: The median household income was $23,576, and the median family income was $27,617. Males had a median income of $21,890 versus $18,678 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,897. About 21.3% of families and 27.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.4% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

text: At the 2010 census, there where 8,836 people, 3,337 households, and 4,162 housing units in the city. The racial make up of the city was 55.5% white (41.3% non-hispanic white), 28.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.2% of the population. 12.9% of the population was foreign born.

text: The Median household income was $28,496, the per capita income was $14,911, and 36.2% of the population lived below the poverty line. 51.8% of the population was female.

text: Government[edit]

text: Avon Park operates under a council-manager form of government, with a city manager who operates under the direction of an elected four-member council and mayor. As of December 2013 the mayor is Sharon Schuler, and the city manager is Julian DeLeon. The city provides fire protection, utilities, and sanitation service to its residents. The city's police and the county sheriff work jointly to provide law enforcement.

text: Transportation[edit]

text: Avon Park Executive Airport is a public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the central business district.

text: Education[edit]

text: Public schools[edit]

text:
Avon Elementary School
Park Elementary School
Memorial Elementary School
Avon Park Middle School
Avon Park High School

text: Private schools[edit]

text:
Walker Memorial Academy
Central Florida Academy
Parkview Pre-K LLC
Community Christian Academy
Cornerstone Christian Academy

text: Colleges[edit]

text: South Florida State College

text: Media[edit]

text: Television[edit]

text: Avon Park is located in a fringe viewing area; its television stations originate in distant cities. Local television services offer signals from WFTV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando; WINK-TV, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers/Naples; WFLA-TV, the Tampa Bay area NBC affiliate; and WTVT, the Tampa Bay area Fox affiliate.

text: Radio[edit]

text: Avon Park is in the Sebring radio market, which is ranked as the 288th largest in the United States by Arbitron.[14] Radio stations broadcasting from Avon Park include WFHT/1390 (Lounge), WAPQ-LP/95.9 (Religious), WWOJ/99.1 (Country) "OJ99.1" & WWMA-LP/107.9 (Religious).

text: Newspapers[edit]

text: Local print media include the News-Sun, a newspaper published on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and Highlands Today, a daily local supplement to The Tampa Tribune that covers newsworthy events in Highlands County.

text: Points of interest[edit]

text:
Avon Park Air Force Range
Avon Park Historic District
Lake Adelaide

text: Notable people[edit]

text:
Dee Gordon, Major League Baseball, Miami Marlins second baseman
Tom Gordon, Major League Baseball pitcher
Fred L. Lowery, Southern Baptist pastor and author, formerly resided in Avon Park
Hal McRae, Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame
Conrad Henry Moehlman, Baptist author and emeritus professor of church history
Richard Korman, Consultant and yachtsman

text: Climate[edit]

text: The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Avon Park has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[15]


document_title: Maria (West Side Story)

question_text: where did maria work in west side story

question_tokens: where did maria work in west side story

text: Maria (West Side Story)

text: Character summary[edit]

text: Maria is in her late teens when she arrives on the US mainland. Her older brother Bernardo is the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. He has a girlfriend, Anita, who Maria is friends with and looks up to. Maria is eager to start a new life in New York, but Bernardo is protective and keeps a close eye on her. He intends for Maria to marry his friend Chino, but Maria is uninterested. She meets Tony who used to be part of the Sharks’ enemy gang, the Jets, at a community dance at the gym. They immediately fall in love. The couple meet several times after (on her balcony, at Anita’s shop, and at Doc’s, Tony’s workplace) before deciding to run away together after the rumble. They are about to leave when Chino shoots Tony for killing Bernardo. Whatever happens to Maria after Tony dies is left a mystery.

text: Maria is based on Shakespeare’s Juliet, who falls in love with Romeo after their first encounter, just like Maria did with Tony.

text: Best known portrayal[edit]

text: The best known portrayal of Maria was by Natalie Wood in the 1961 film, although the singing voice was provided by Marni Nixon.[1][2]

text: Songs[edit]

text: The songs sung by Maria include:

text:
"Tonight" sung with Tony. Tony visits Maria on her balcony after the dance they had met at. The song acknowledges their new relationship:

"Tonight, tonight / It all began tonight!"[3]

"I Feel Pretty" is sung with Maria’s co-workers (except Anita) in the dress shop. The song is about Maria feeling pretty, as well as “dizzy” “witty” “charming” because:

"I'm loved / By a pretty wonderful boy."[4]

After the girls leave the shop, Tony meets Maria there, and they sing "One Hand, One Heart." This is sung after they pretend to get married.

"Now it begins, Now we start / One Hand, One Heart. / Even death won't part us now."[5]

The Quintet is a medley that the Sharks, the Jets, Anita, Tony, and Maria sing in. Tony and Maria sing a continuation of "Tonight."
"Somewhere" is also sung with Tony. He returns to Maria's house after he killed Bernardo at the rumble. The song represents their decision to flee from the city to:

"Peace and quiet and open air"[6]

"A Boy Like That / I Have a Love" is sung with Anita after she discovers that Maria was with Tony after the rumble. She tries to convince Maria to find another love, but Maria fights back with:

"I have a love and it's all that I have / Right or wrong, what else can I do?"[7]

tag: ol

text: In both the film and the play is a song named "Maria", which is sung by Tony in both. He sings this right after he meets and kisses Maria for the first time. Her name is sung 29 times in total.[8]

text: 1961 actress choices[edit]

text: Natalie Wood was not the first choice to play Maria in the 1961 film version. Audrey Hepburn was considered, but she did not take it due to her pregnancy.[9] Like Wood, Hepburn was not Puerto Rican; she was British, Dutch, and Austrian.[10]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text:
Maria is referenced in the chorus of the song "Maria Maria" by the band Santana:

“Oh Maria, Maria / She remind me of a West Side story.”[11]

West Bank Story, an Academy-award winning short film, is based on West Side Story. The rivalry is between Palestinians and the Hummus Hut stand versus the Jews and the Kosher King stand. Fatima, a Hummus Hut employee, is infatuated with David, a Kosher King employee, who feels the same way about Fatima. Fatima and David represent Maria and Tony.
A dance battle movie called Boogie Town is also based on West Side Story. It is set in 2015 New York City where dance battles are illegal. There are two rival dance crews, one led by Jay and the other by Micah. Micah falls in love with Jay’s sister, Natalie, who represents Maria.


document_title: Great Lakes

question_text: which is the largest great lake in north america

question_tokens: which is the largest great lake in north america

text: Great Lakes

text: Geography[edit]

text: Though the five lakes reside in separate basins, they form a single, naturally interconnected body of fresh water, within the Great Lakes Basin. The lakes form a chain connecting the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan, southward to Erie, and finally northward to Lake Ontario. The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers, and are studded with approximately 35,000 islands.[13] There are also several thousand smaller lakes, often called "inland lakes," within the basin.[14] The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom, while the surface area of the entire basin (the lakes and the land they drain) is about the size of the UK and France combined.[15] Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that is located entirely within the United States; the others form a water boundary between the United States and Canada. The lakes are divided among the jurisdictions of the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Both Ontario and Michigan include in their boundaries portions of four of the lakes: Ontario does not border Lake Michigan, and Michigan does not border Lake Ontario. New York and Wisconsin's jurisdictions extend into two lakes, and the remaining states into one of the lakes.

text: Bathymetry[edit]

text:
Lake Erie
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
Lake Ontario
Lake Superior

Surface area[5]
9,910 sq mi (25,700 km2)
23,000 sq mi (60,000 km2)
22,300 sq mi (58,000 km2)
7,340 sq mi (19,000 km2)
31,700 sq mi (82,000 km2)

Water volume[5]
116 cu mi (480 km3)
850 cu mi (3,500 km3)
1,180 cu mi (4,900 km3)
393 cu mi (1,640 km3)
2,900 cu mi (12,000 km3)

Elevation[16]
571 ft (174 m)
577 ft (176 m)
577 ft (176 m)
246 ft (75 m)
600.0 ft (182.9 m)

Average depth[15]
62 ft (19 m)
195 ft (59 m)
279 ft (85 m)
283 ft (86 m)
483 ft (147 m)

Maximum depth[17]
210 ft (64 m)
748 ft (228 m)
925 ft (282 m)
804 ft (245 m)
1,333 ft (406 m)

Major settlements[18]
Buffalo, NY
Erie, PA
Cleveland, OH
Lorain, OH
Toledo, OH
Sandusky, OH
Alpena, MI
Bay City, MI
Owen Sound, ON
Port Huron, MI
Sarnia, ON
Chicago, IL
Gary, IN
Green Bay, WI
Sheboygan, WI
Milwaukee, WI
Kenosha, WI
Racine, WI
Muskegon, MI
Traverse City, MI
Hamilton, ON
Kingston, ON
Mississauga, ON
Oshawa, ON
Rochester, NY
Toronto, ON
Duluth, MN
Marquette, MI
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Superior, WI
Thunder Bay, ON

text:
Relative elevations, average depths, maximum depths, and volumes of the Great Lakes.

Notes:
The area of each rectangle is proportionate to the volume of each lake. All measurements at Low Water Datum.

Source:
EPA[16]

text: As the surfaces of Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie are all approximately the same elevation above sea level, while Lake Ontario is significantly lower, and because the Niagara Escarpment precludes all natural navigation, the four upper lakes are commonly called the "upper great lakes". This designation, however, is not universal. Those living on the shore of Lake Superior often refer to all the other lakes as "the lower lakes", because they are farther south. Sailors of bulk freighters transferring cargoes from Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to ports on Lake Erie or Ontario commonly refer to the latter as the lower lakes and Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior as the upper lakes. This corresponds to thinking of Lakes Erie and Ontario as "down south" and the others as "up north". Vessels sailing north on Lake Michigan are considered "upbound" even though they are sailing toward its effluent current.[25]

text: Primary connecting waterways[edit]

text:
The Chicago River and Calumet River systems connect the Great Lakes Basin to the Mississippi River System through man-made alterations and canals.
The St. Marys River, including the Soo Locks, connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron.
The Straits of Mackinac connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron (which are hydrologically one).
The St. Clair River connects Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair.
The Detroit River connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie.
The Niagara River, including Niagara Falls, connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
The Welland Canal, bypassing the Falls, connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
The Saint Lawrence River and the Saint Lawrence Seaway connect Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which connects to the Atlantic Ocean.

text: Lake Michigan–Huron[edit]

text: Lakes Huron and Michigan are sometimes considered a single lake, called Lake Michigan–Huron, because they are one hydrological body of water connected by the Straits of Mackinac.[26] The straits are 5 miles (8 km) wide[15] and 120 feet (37 m) deep; the water levels – currently at 577 feet (176 m) – rise and fall together,[27] and the flow between Michigan and Huron frequently reverses direction.

text: Other significant bodies of water[edit]

text:
Lake Nipigon, connected to Lake Superior by the Nipigon River, is surrounded by sill-like formations of mafic and ultramafic igneous rock hundreds of meters high. The lake lies in the Nipigon Embayment, a failed arm of the triple junction (centered beneath Lake Superior) in the Midcontinent Rift System event, estimated at 1,109 million years ago.
Green Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan, located along the south coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the east coast of Wisconsin. It is separated from the rest of the lake by the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin, the Garden Peninsula in Michigan, and the chain of islands between them, all of which were formed by the Niagara Escarpment.
Lake Winnebago, connected to Green Bay by the Fox River, serves as part of the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway and is part of a larger system of lakes in Wisconsin known as the Winnebago Pool.
Grand Traverse Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan located on Michigan's west coast, being one of the largest natural harbors in the Great Lakes. The bay has one large peninsula[28] and one major island known as Power Island. Its namesake is derived from when Jacques Marquette crossed the bay from Norwood to Northport calling it La Grande Traversee.[29]
Georgian Bay is an arm of Lake Huron, extending northeast from the lake entirely within Ontario. The bay, along with its narrow westerly extensions of the North Channel and Mississagi Strait, is separated from the rest of the lake by the Bruce Peninsula, Manitoulin Island, and Cockburn Island, all of which were also formed by the Niagara Escarpment.
Lake Nipissing, connected to Georgian Bay by the French River, contains two volcanic pipes, which are the Manitou Islands and Callander Bay.[30] These pipes were formed by a violent, supersonic eruption of deep-origin. The lake lies in the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben, a Mesozoic rift valley that formed 175 million years ago.
Lake Simcoe, connected to Georgian Bay by the Severn River, serves as part of the Trent–Severn Waterway, a canal route traversing Southern Ontario between Lakes Ontario and Huron.
Lake St. Clair, connected with Lake Huron (to its north) by the St. Clair River and with Lake Erie (to its south) by the Detroit River. Although it is 17 times smaller in area than Lake Ontario and only rarely included in the listings of the Great Lakes,[31][32] proposals for its official recognition as a Great Lake are occasionally made, which would affect its inclusion in scientific research projects, etc., designated as related to "The Great Lakes".[33]

text: Islands[edit]

text: Dispersed throughout the Great Lakes are approximately 35,000 islands.[13] The largest among them is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, the largest island in any inland body of water in the world.[34] The second-largest island is Isle Royale in Lake Superior.[35] Both of these islands are large enough to contain multiple lakes themselves—for instance, Manitoulin Island's Lake Manitou is the world's largest lake located on a freshwater island.[36]

text: Shipping connection to the ocean[edit]

text: The Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway make the Great Lakes accessible to ocean-going vessels.[37] However, shifts in shipping to wider ocean-going container ships—which do not fit through the locks on these routes—have limited container shipping on the lakes. Most Great Lakes trade is of bulk material, and bulk freighters of Seawaymax-size or less can move throughout the entire lakes and out to the Atlantic.[38] Larger ships are confined to working in the lakes themselves. Only barges can access the Illinois Waterway system providing access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Despite their vast size, large sections of the Great Lakes freeze over in winter, interrupting most shipping from January to March. Some icebreakers ply the lakes, keeping the shipping lanes open through other periods of ice on the lakes.

text: The Great Lakes are also connected by canal to the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Illinois River (from the Chicago River) and the Mississippi River. An alternate track is via the Illinois River (from Chicago), to the Mississippi, up the Ohio, and then through the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (a combination of a series of rivers and lakes and canals), to Mobile Bay and the Gulf. Commercial tug-and-barge traffic on these waterways is heavy.[39]

text: Pleasure boats can also enter or exit the Great Lakes by way of the Erie Canal and Hudson River in New York. The Erie Canal connects to the Great Lakes at the east end of Lake Erie (at Buffalo, New York) and at the south side of Lake Ontario (at Oswego, New York).

text: Water levels[edit]

text: In 2009, the lakes contained 84% of the surface freshwater of North America;[40] if the water were evenly distributed over the entire continent's land area, it would reach a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet).[15] 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.[15] While the lake levels have been preserved, intensive human population growth only began in the region in the 20th century and continues today.[15] 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).[41]

text: The water level of Lake Michigan–Huron had remained fairly constant over the 20th century,[42] but has nevertheless dropped more than 6 feet from the record high in 1986 to the low of 2013.[43] 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.[43] By April 2015 the water level had recovered to 7 inches (17.5 cm) more than the "long term monthly average".[44]

text: Name origins[edit]

text: Statistics[edit]

text: The Great Lakes contained 21% of the world's surface fresh water around the year 2000: 5,472 cubic miles (22,810 km3), or 6.0×1015 U.S. gallons (2.3×1016 liters). This is enough water to cover the 48 contiguous U.S. states to a uniform depth of 9.5 feet (2.9 m). Although the lakes contain a large percentage of the world's fresh water, the Great Lakes supply only a small portion of U.S. drinking water on a national basis.[51]

text: The total surface area of the lakes is approximately 94,250 square miles (244,100 km2)—nearly the same size as the United Kingdom, and larger than the U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire combined.[52]

text: The Great Lakes coast measures approximately 10,500 miles (16,900 km);[15] however, the length of a coastline is impossible to measure exactly and is not a well-defined measure (see Coastline paradox). Of the total 10,500 miles (16,900 km) of shoreline, Canada borders approximately 5,200 miles (8,400 km), while the remaining 5,300 miles (8,500 km) are bordered by the United States. Michigan has the longest shoreline of the United States, bordering roughly 3,288 miles (5,292 km) of shoreline, followed by Wisconsin (820 miles (1,320 km)), New York (473 miles (761 km)), and Ohio (312 miles (502 km)).[53] Traversing the shoreline of all the lakes would cover a distance roughly equivalent to travelling half-way around the world at the equator.[15]

text: Geology[edit]

text: It has been estimated that the foundational geology that created the conditions shaping the present day upper Great Lakes was laid from 1.1 to 1.2 billion years ago,[15][54] when two previously fused tectonic plates split apart and created the Midcontinent Rift, which crossed the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone. A valley was formed providing a basin that eventually became modern day Lake Superior. When a second fault line, the Saint Lawrence rift, formed approximately 570 million years ago,[15] the basis for Lakes Ontario and Erie were created, along with what would become the Saint Lawrence River.

text: The Great Lakes are estimated to have been formed at the end of the last glacial period (the Wisconsin glaciation ended 10,000 to 12,000 years ago), when the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded.[11] The retreat of the ice sheet left behind a large amount of meltwater (see Lake Algonquin and Lake Chicago) that filled up the basins that the glaciers had carved, thus creating the Great Lakes as we know them today.[55] Because of the uneven nature of glacier erosion, some higher hills became Great Lakes islands. The Niagara Escarpment follows the contour of the Great Lakes between New York and Wisconsin. See also Glacial Lake Iroquois and Champlain Sea.

text: Land below the glaciers "rebounded" as it was uncovered.[56] Because the glaciers covered some areas longer than others, this glacial rebound occurred at different rates.

text: Climate[edit]

text: The Great Lakes have a humid continental climate, Köppen climate classification Dfa (in southern areas) and Dfb (in northern parts)[57] with varying influences from air masses from other regions including dry, cold Arctic systems, mild Pacific air masses from the West, and warm, wet tropical systems from the south and the Gulf of Mexico.[58] The lakes themselves also have a moderating effect on the climate; they can also increase precipitation totals and produce lake effect snowfall.[57]

text: Lake effect[edit]

text: The most well-known winter effect of the Great Lakes on regional weather is the lake effect in snowfall, which is sometimes very localized. Even late in winter, the lakes often have no icepack in the middle. The prevailing winds from the west pick up the air and moisture from the lake surface, which is slightly warmer in relation to the cold surface winds above. As the slightly warmer, moist air passes over the colder land surface, the moisture often produces concentrated, heavy snowfall that sets up in bands or "streamers". This is similar to the effect of warmer air dropping snow as it passes over mountain ranges. During freezing weather with high winds, the "snow belts" receive regular snow fall from this localized weather pattern, especially along the eastern shores of the lakes. Snow belts are found in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, United States; and Ontario, Canada.

text: The lakes also moderate seasonal temperatures to some degree, but not with as large an influence as do large oceans; they absorb heat and cool the air in summer, then slowly radiate that heat in autumn. They protect against frost during transitional weather, and keep the summertime temperatures cooler than further inland. This effect can be very localized and overridden by offshore wind patterns. This temperature buffering produces areas known as "fruit belts", where fruit can be produced that is typically grown much farther south. For instance, Western Michigan has apple and cherry orchards, and vineyards cultivated adjacent to the lake shore as far north as the Grand Traverse Bay and Nottawasaga Bay in central Ontario. The eastern shore of Lake Michigan and the southern shore of Lake Erie have many successful wineries because of the moderating effect, as does the Niagara Peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. A similar phenomenon allows wineries to flourish in the Finger Lakes region of New York, as well as in Prince Edward County, Ontario on Lake Ontario's northeast shore. Related to the lake effect is the regular occurrence of fog over medium-sized areas, particularly along the shorelines of the lakes. This is most noticeable along Lake Superior's shores.

text: The Great Lakes have been observed to help intensify storms, such as Hurricane Hazel in 1954, and the 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado, which moved onshore as a tornadic waterspout. In 1996 a rare tropical or subtropical storm was observed forming in Lake Huron, dubbed the 1996 Lake Huron cyclone. Rather large severe thunderstorms covering wide areas are well known in the Great Lakes during mid-summer; these Mesoscale convective complexs or MCCs[59] can cause damage to wide swaths of forest and shatter glass in city buildings. These storms mainly occur during the night, and the systems sometimes have small embedded tornadoes, but more often straight-line winds accompanied by intense lightning.

text: Ecology[edit]

text: Historically, the Great Lakes, in addition to their lake ecology, were surrounded by various forest ecoregions (except in a relatively small area of southeast Lake Michigan where savanna or prairie occasionally intruded). Logging, urbanization, and agriculture uses have changed that relationship. In the early 21st century, Lake Superior's shores are 91% forested, Lake Huron 68%, Lake Ontario 49%, Lake Michigan 41%, and Lake Erie, where logging and urbanization has been most extensive, 21%. Some of these forests are second or third growth (i.e. they have been logged before, changing their composition). At least 13 wildlife species are documented as becoming extinct since the arrival of Europeans, and many more are threatened or endangered.[15] Meanwhile, exotic and invasive species have also been introduced.

text: Fauna[edit]

text: The organisms living on the bottom of shallow waters are similar to those found in smaller lakes. The deep waters, however, contain organisms found only in deep, cold lakes of the northern latitudes. These include the delicate opossum shrimp (order mysida), the deepwater scud (a crustacean of the order amphipoda), two types of copepods, and the deepwater sculpin (a spiny, large-headed fish).[61]

text: The Great Lakes are an important source of fishing. Early European settlers were astounded by both the variety and quantity of fish; there were 150 different species in the Great Lakes.[15] Throughout history, fish populations were the early indicator of the condition of the Lakes and have remained one of the key indicators even in the current era of sophisticated analyses and measuring instruments. According to the bi-national (U.S. and Canadian) resource book, The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book: "The largest Great Lakes fish harvests were recorded in 1889 and 1899 at some 67,000 tonnes (66,000 long tons; 74,000 short tons) [147 million pounds]."[62]

text: By 1801, the New York Legislature found it necessary to pass regulations curtailing obstructions to the natural migrations of Atlantic salmon from Lake Erie into their spawning channels. In the early 19th century, the government of Upper Canada found it necessary to introduce similar legislation prohibiting the use of weirs and nets at the mouths of Lake Ontario's tributaries. Other protective legislation was passed, as well, but enforcement remained difficult.[63]

text: On both sides of the Canada–United States border, the proliferation of dams and impoundments have multiplied, necessitating more regulatory efforts. Concerns by the mid-19th century included obstructions in the rivers which prevented salmon and lake sturgeon from reaching their spawning grounds. The Wisconsin Fisheries Commission noted a reduction of roughly 25% in general fish harvests by 1875. The states have removed dams from rivers where necessary.[clarification needed][64]

text: Overfishing has been cited as a possible reason for a decrease in population of various whitefish, important because of their culinary desirability and, hence, economic consequence. Moreover, between 1879 and 1899, reported whitefish harvests declined from some 24.3 million pounds (11 million kg) to just over 9 million pounds (4 million kg).[65] By 1900, commercial fishermen on Lake Michigan were hauling in an average of 41 million pounds of fish annually.[66] By 1938, Wisconsin's commercial fishing operations were motorized and mechanized, generating jobs for more than 2,000 workers, and hauling 14 million pounds per year.[66] The population of giant freshwater mussels was eliminated as the mussels were harvested for use as buttons by early Great Lakes entrepreneurs.[65] Since 2000, the invasive quagga mussel has smothered the bottom of Lake Michigan almost from shore to shore, and their numbers are estimated at 900 trillion.[66]

text: The influx of parasitic lamprey populations after the development of the Erie Canal and the much later Welland Canal led to the two federal governments of the US and Canada working on joint proposals to control it. By the mid-1950s, the lake trout populations of Lakes Michigan and Huron were reduced, with the lamprey deemed largely to blame. This led to the launch of the bi-national Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

text: The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book (1972) noted: "Only pockets remain of the once large commercial fishery."[62] But, water quality improvements realized during the 1970s and 1980s, combined with successful salmonid stocking programs, have enabled the growth of a large recreational fishery.[67] The last commercial fisherman left Milwaukee in 2011 because of overfishing and anthropogenic changes to the biosphere.[66]

text: Since the 19th century an estimated 160 new species have found their way into the Great Lakes ecosystem; many have become invasive; the overseas ship ballast and ship hull parasitism are causing severe economic and ecological impacts.[68][69] According to the Inland Seas Education Association, on average a new species enters the Great Lakes every eight months.[69]

text: Introductions into the Great Lakes include the zebra mussel, which was first discovered in 1988, and quagga mussel in 1989. The mollusks are efficient filter feeders, competing with native mussels and reducing available food and spawning grounds for fish. In addition, the mussels may be a nuisance to industries by clogging pipes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that the economic impact of the zebra mussel could be about $5 billion over the next decade.[70]

text: The alewife first entered the system west of Lake Ontario via 19th-century canals. By the 1960s, the small silver fish had become a familiar nuisance to beach goers across Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Periodic mass dieoffs result in vast numbers of the fish washing up on shore; estimates by various governments have placed the percentage of Lake Michigan's biomass, which was made up of alewives in the early 1960s, as high as 90%. In the late 1960s, the various state and federal governments began stocking several species of salmonids, including the native lake trout as well as non-native chinook and coho salmon; by the 1980s, alewife populations had dropped drastically.[71] The ruffe, a small percid fish from Eurasia, became the most abundant fish species in Lake Superior's Saint Louis River within five years of its detection in 1986. Its range, which has expanded to Lake Huron, poses a significant threat to the lower lake fishery.[72] Five years after first being observed in the St. Clair River, the round goby can now be found in all of the Great Lakes. The goby is considered undesirable for several reasons: it preys upon bottom-feeding fish, overruns optimal habitat, spawns multiple times a season, and can survive poor water quality conditions.[73]

text: Several species of exotic water fleas have accidentally been introduced into the Great Lakes, such as the spiny waterflea, Bythotrephes longimanus, and the fishhook waterflea, Cercopagis pengoi, potentially having an effect on the zooplankton population. Several species of crayfish have also been introduced that may contend with native crayfish populations. More recently an electric fence has been set up across the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in order to keep several species of invasive Asian carp out of the area. These fast-growing planktivorous fish have heavily colonized the Mississippi and Illinois river systems.[74] The sea lamprey, which has been particularly damaging to the native lake trout population, is another example of a marine invasive species in the Great Lakes.[75] Invasive species, particularly zebra and quagga mussels, may be at least partially responsible for the collapse of the deepwater demersal fish community in Lake Huron,[76] as well as drastic unprecedented changes in the zooplankton community of the lake.[77]

text: Flora[edit]

text: See also: Flora of the Great Lakes region, and Index: Trees of the Great Lakes region.

text: Native habitats and ecoregions in the Great Lakes region include:

text:
Eastern forest-boreal transition
Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests
Southern Great Lakes forests
Central forest-grasslands transition
Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition
Western Great Lakes forests
Central Canadian Shield forests
Laurentian Mixed Forest Province
Beech-maple forest
Habitats of the Indiana Dunes

text: Plant lists include:

text:
List of Michigan flowers
List of Minnesota wild flowers
List of Minnesota trees

text: Logging

text: Logging of the extensive forests in the Great Lakes region removed riparian and adjacent tree cover over rivers and streams, which provide shade, moderating water temperatures in fish spawning grounds. Removal of trees also destabilized the soil, with greater volumes washed into stream beds causing siltation of gravel beds, and more frequent flooding.

text: Running cut logs down the tributary rivers into the Great Lakes also dislocated sediments. In 1884, the New York Fish Commission determined that the dumping of sawmill waste (chips and sawdust) had impacted fish populations.[78]

text: Pollution[edit]

text: The first U.S. Clean Water Act, passed by a Congressional override after being vetoed by US President Richard Nixon in 1972, was a key piece of legislation,[79] along with the bi-national Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement signed by Canada and the U.S. A variety of steps taken to process industrial and municipal pollution discharges into the system greatly improved water quality by the 1980s, and Lake Erie in particular is significantly cleaner.[80] Discharge of toxic substances has been sharply reduced. Federal and state regulations control substances like PCBs. The first of 43 "Great Lakes Areas of Concern" to be formally "de-listed" due to successful cleanup was Ontario's Collingwood Harbour in 1994; Ontario's Severn Sound followed in 2003.[81] Presque Isle Bay in Pennsylvania is formally listed as in recovery, as is Ontario's Spanish Harbour. Dozens of other Areas of Concern have received partial cleanups such as the Rouge River (Michigan) and Waukegan Harbor (Illinois).[82]

text: Until 1970, mercury was not listed as a harmful chemical, according to the United States Federal Water Quality Administration. Within the past ten years mercury has become more apparent in water tests. Mercury compounds have been used in paper mills to prevent slime from forming during their production, and chemical companies have used mercury to separate chlorine from brine solutions. Studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency have shown that when the mercury comes in contact with many of the bacteria and compounds in the fresh water, it forms the compound methyl mercury, which has a much greater impact on human health than elemental mercury due to a higher propensity for absorption. This form of mercury is not detrimental to a majority of fish types, but is very detrimental to people and other wildlife animals who consume the fish. Mercury has been known for health related problems such as birth defects in humans and animals, and the near extinction of eagles in the Great Lakes region.[83]

text: The amount of raw sewage dumped into the waters was the primary focus of both the first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and federal laws passed in both countries during the 1970s. Implementation of secondary treatment of municipal sewage by major cities greatly reduced the routine discharge of untreated sewage during the 1970s and 1980s.[84] The International Joint Commission in 2009 summarized the change: "Since the early 1970s, the level of treatment to reduce pollution from waste water discharges to the Great Lakes has improved considerably. This is a result of significant expenditures to date on both infrastructure and technology, and robust regulatory systems that have proven to be, on the whole, quite effective."[85] The commission reported that all urban sewage treatment systems on the U.S. side of the lakes had implemented secondary treatment, as had all on the Canadian side except for five small systems.[citation needed]

text: However contrary to federal laws in both countries, those treatment system upgrades have not yet eliminated Combined sewer Overflow events.[citation needed] This describes when older sewerage systems, which combine storm water with sewage into single sewers heading to the treatment plant, are temporarily overwhelmed by heavy rainstorms. Local sewage treatment authorities then must release untreated effluent, a mix of rainwater and sewage, into local water bodies. While enormous public investments such as the Deep Tunnel projects in Chicago and Milwaukee have greatly reduced the frequency and volume of these events, they have not been eliminated. The number of such overflow events in Ontario, for example, is flat according to the International Joint Commission.[85] Reports about this issue on the U.S. side highlight five large municipal systems (those of Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Gary) as being the largest current periodic sources of untreated discharges into the Great Lakes.[86]

text: Phosphate detergents were historically a major source of nutrient to the Great Lakes algae blooms in particular in the warmer and shallower portions of the system such as Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay, Green Bay, and the southernmost portion of Lake Michigan. By the mid-1980s, most jurisdictions bordering the Great Lakes had controlled phosphate detergents,[87] resulting in sharp reductions in the frequency and extent of the blooms.[citation needed]

text: In 2013, news of a garbage patch of plastic pollution in the lakes was reported.[88]

text: History[edit]

text: Several Native American tribes inhabited the region since at least 1000 BC, after the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. The peoples of the Great Lakes traded with the Hopewell culture from around 1000 AD, as copper nuggets have been extracted from the region, and fashioned into ornaments and weapons in the mounds of Southern Ohio. The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was built at Cayuga Creek, near the southern end of the Niagara River, and became the first known sailing ship to travel the upper Great Lakes on August 7, 1679.[89]

text: The Rush–Bagot Treaty signed in 1818, after the War of 1812 and the later Treaty of Washington eventually led to a complete disarmament of naval vessels in the Great Lakes. Nonetheless, both nations maintain coast guard vessels in the Great Lakes.

text: During settlement, the Great Lakes and its rivers were the only practical means of moving people and freight. Barges from middle North America were able to reach the Atlantic Ocean from the Great Lakes when the Welland canal opened in 1824 and the later Erie Canal opened in 1825.[90] By 1848, with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal at Chicago, direct access to the Mississippi River was possible from the lakes.[91] With these two canals an all-inland water route was provided between New York City and New Orleans.

text: The main business of many of the passenger lines in the 19th century was transporting immigrants. Many of the larger cities owe their existence to their position on the lakes as a freight destination as well as for being a magnet for immigrants. After railroads and surface roads developed, the freight and passenger businesses dwindled and, except for ferries and a few foreign cruise ships, has now vanished. The immigration routes still have an effect today. Immigrants often formed their own communities and some areas have a pronounced ethnicity, such as Dutch, German, Polish, Finnish, and many others. Since many immigrants settled for a time in New England before moving westward, many areas on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes also have a New England feel, especially in home styles and accent.

text: Since general freight these days is transported by railroads and trucks, domestic ships mostly move bulk cargoes, such as iron ore, coal and limestone for the steel industry. The domestic bulk freight developed because of the nearby mines. It was more economical to transport the ingredients for steel to centralized plants rather than try to make steel on the spot. Grain exports are also a major cargo on the lakes.

text: In the 19th century and early 20th centuries, iron and other ores such as copper were shipped south on (downbound ships), and supplies, food, and coal were shipped north (upbound). Because of the location of the coal fields in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the general northeast track of the Appalachian Mountains, railroads naturally developed shipping routes that went due north to ports such as Erie, Pennsylvania and Ashtabula, Ohio.

text: Because the lake maritime community largely developed independently, it has some distinctive vocabulary. Ships, no matter the size, are called boats. When the sailing ships gave way to steamships, they were called steamboats—the same term used on the Mississippi. The ships also have a distinctive design (see Lake freighter). Ships that primarily trade on the lakes are known as lakers. Foreign boats are known as salties. One of the more common sights on the lakes has been since about 1950 the 1,000‑by‑105-foot (305-by-32-meter), 78,850-long-ton (80,120-metric-ton) self-unloader. This is a laker with a conveyor belt system that can unload itself by swinging a crane over the side.[92] Today, the Great Lakes fleet is much smaller in numbers than it once was because of the increased use of overland freight, and a few larger ships replacing many small ones.

text: During World War II, the risk of submarine attacks against coastal training facilities motivated the United States Navy to operate two aircraft carriers on the Great Lakes, USS Sable (IX-81) and USS Wolverine (IX-64). Both served as training ships to qualify naval aviators in carrier landing and takeoff.[93] Lake Champlain briefly became the sixth Great Lake of the United States on March 6, 1998, when President Clinton signed Senate Bill 927. This bill, which reauthorized the National Sea Grant Program, contained a line declaring Lake Champlain to be a Great Lake. Not coincidentally, this status allows neighboring states to apply for additional federal research and education funds allocated to these national resources.[94] Following a small uproar, the Senate voted to revoke the designation on March 24 (although New York and Vermont universities would continue to receive funds to monitor and study the lake).[95]

text: In the early years of the 21st century, water levels in the Great Lakes were a concern.[96] Researchers at the Mowat Centre said that low levels could cost $19bn by 2050.[97]

text: Economy[edit]

text: Shipping[edit]

text: Except when the water is frozen during winter, more than 100 lake freighters operate continuously on the Great Lakes,[98] which remain a major water transport corridor for bulk goods. The Great Lakes Waterway connects all the lakes; the smaller Saint Lawrence Seaway connects the lakes to the Atlantic oceans. Some lake freighters are too large to use the Seaway, and only operate on the Waterway and lakes.

text: In 2002, 162 million net tons of dry bulk cargo were moved on the Lakes. This was, in order of volume: iron ore, grain and potash.[99] The iron ore and much of the stone and coal are used in the steel industry. There is also some shipping of liquid and containerized cargo but most container ships cannot pass the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway because the ships are too wide.

text: Only four bridges are on the Great Lakes other than Lake Ontario because of the cost of building structures high enough for ships to pass under. The Blue Water Bridge is, for example, more than 150 feet high and more than a mile long.[98]

text: Drinking water and compact[edit]

text: The Great Lakes are used to supply drinking water to tens of millions of people in bordering areas. This valuable resource is collectively administered by the state and provincial governments adjacent to the lakes, who have agreed to the Great Lakes Compact to regulate water supply and use.

text: Recreation[edit]

text: Tourism and recreation are major industries on the Great Lakes.[100] A few small cruise ships operate on the Great Lakes including a couple of sailing ships. Sport fishing, commercial fishing, and Native American fishing represent a U.S.$4 billion a year industry with salmon, whitefish, smelt, lake trout, bass and walleye being major catches. Many other water sports are practiced on the lakes such as yachting, sea kayaking, diving, kitesurfing, powerboating, and lake surfing.

text: The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.[101]

text: Great Lakes passenger steamers[edit]

text: From 1844 through 1857, palace steamers carried passengers and cargo around the Great Lakes.[102] In the first half of the 20th century large luxurious passenger steamers sailed the lakes in opulence.[103] The Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company had several vessels at the time and hired workers from all walks of life to help operate these vessels.[104] Several ferries currently operate on the Great Lakes to carry passengers to various islands, including Isle Royale, Drummond Island, Pelee Island, Mackinac Island, Beaver Island, Bois Blanc Island (Ontario), Bois Blanc Island (Michigan), Kelleys Island, South Bass Island, North Manitou Island, South Manitou Island, Harsens Island, Manitoulin Island, and the Toronto Islands. As of 2007, four car ferry services cross the Great Lakes, two on Lake Michigan: a steamer from Ludington, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and a high speed catamaran from Milwaukee to Muskegon, Michigan, one on Lake Erie: a boat from Kingsville, Ontario, or Leamington, Ontario, to Pelee Island, Ontario, then onto Sandusky, Ohio, and one on Lake Huron: the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun [105] runs between Tobermory and South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, operated by the Owen Sound Transportation Company. An international ferry across Lake Ontario Rochester, New York, to Toronto ran during 2004 and 2005, but is no longer in operation.

text: Shipwrecks[edit]

text: The large size of the Great Lakes increases the risk of water travel; storms and reefs are common threats. The lakes are prone to sudden and severe storms, in particular in the autumn, from late October until early December. Hundreds of ships have met their end on the lakes. The greatest concentration of shipwrecks lies near Thunder Bay (Michigan), beneath Lake Huron, near the point where eastbound and westbound shipping lanes converge.

text: The Lake Superior shipwreck coast from Grand Marais, Michigan, to Whitefish Point became known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes". More vessels have been lost in the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior.[106] The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve serves as an underwater museum to protect the many shipwrecks in this area.

text: The first ship to sink in Lake Michigan was Le Griffon, also the first ship to sail the Great Lakes. Caught in a 1679 storm while trading furs between Green Bay and Michilimacinac, she was lost with all hands aboard.[107] Its wreck may have been found in 2004,[108] but a wreck subsequently discovered in a different location was also claimed in 2014 to be Le Griffon.[109]

text: The largest and last major freighter wrecked on the lakes was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on November 10, 1975, just over 17 miles (30 km) offshore from Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. The largest loss of life in a shipwreck out on the lakes may have been that of Lady Elgin, wrecked in 1860 with the loss of around 400 lives on Lake Michigan. In an incident at a Chicago dock in 1915, the SS Eastland rolled over while loading passengers, killing 841.

text: In August 2007, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced that it had found the wreckage of Cyprus, a 420-foot (130 m) long, century-old ore carrier. Cyprus sank during a Lake Superior storm on October 11, 1907, during its second voyage while hauling iron ore from Superior, Wisconsin, to Buffalo, New York. The entire crew of 23 drowned, except one, Charles Pitz, who floated on a life raft for almost seven hours.[110]

text: In June 2008, deep sea divers in Lake Ontario found the wreck of the 1780 Royal Navy warship HMS Ontario in what has been described as an "archaeological miracle".[111] There are no plans to raise her as the site is being treated as a war grave.

text: In June 2010, L.R. Doty was found in Lake Michigan by an exploration diving team led by dive boat Captain Jitka Hanakova from her boat the Molly V.[112] The ship sank in October 1898, probably attempting to rescue a small schooner, Olive Jeanette, during a terrible storm.

text: Still missing are the two last warships to sink in the Great Lakes, the French minesweepers, Inkerman and Cerisoles, which vanished in Lake Superior during a blizzard in 1918. 78 lives were lost making it the largest loss of life in Lake Superior and the greatest unexplained loss of life in the Great Lakes.

text: Related articles

text:
List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes
Index: Shipwrecks in the Great Lakes
Great Storms of the North American Great Lakes
Great Lakes Storm of 1913

text: Legislation[edit]

text: In 1872, a treaty gave access to the St. Lawrence River to the United States, and access to Lake Michigan to the Dominion of Canada.[113] The International Joint Commission was established in 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes relating to the use and quality of boundary waters, and to advise Canada and the United States on questions related to water resources. Concerns over diversion of Lake water are of concern to both Americans and Canadians. Some water is diverted through the Chicago River to operate the Illinois Waterway but the flow is limited by treaty. Possible schemes for bottled water plants and diversion to dry regions of the continent raise concerns. Under the U.S. "Water Resources Development Act",[114] diversion of water from the Great Lakes Basin requires the approval of all eight Great Lakes governors through the Great Lakes Commission, which rarely occurs. International treaties regulate large diversions.

text: In 1998, the Canadian company Nova Group won approval from the Province of Ontario to withdraw 158,000,000 U.S. gallons (600,000 m3) of Lake Superior water annually to ship by tanker to Asian countries. Public outcry forced the company to abandon the plan before it began. Since that time, the eight Great Lakes Governors and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec have negotiated the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement[115] and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact[116] that would prevent most future diversion proposals and all long-distance ones. The agreements strengthen protection against abusive water withdrawal practices within the Great Lakes basin. On December 13, 2005, the Governors and Premiers signed these two agreements, the first of which is between all ten jurisdictions. It is somewhat more detailed and protective, though its legal strength has not yet been tested in court. The second, the Great Lakes Compact, has been approved by the state legislatures of all eight states that border the Great Lakes as well as the U.S. Congress, and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008.[117]

text: The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, described as "the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades,"[118] was funded at $475 million in the U.S. federal government's Fiscal Year 2011 budget, and $300 million in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget. Through the program a coalition of federal agencies is making grants to local and state entities for toxics cleanups, wetlands and coastline restoration projects, and invasive species-related projects.

text: Coast Guard live fire exercises[edit]

text: In 2006, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) proposed a plan to designate 34 areas in the Great Lakes, at least 5 mi (8 km) offshore, as permanent safety zones for live fire machine gun practice. In August 2006, the plan was published in the Federal Register. The USCG reserved the right to hold target practice whenever the weather allowed with a two-hour notice. These firing ranges would be open to the public when not in use. In response to requests from the public, the Coast Guard held a series of public meetings in nine U.S. cities to solicit comment. During these meetings many people voiced concerns about the plan and its impact on the environment.[119] On December 18, 2006, the Coast Guard announced its decision to withdraw the entire proposal.[120] Officials said they would look into alternative ammunition, modifying the proposed zones and have more public dialogue before proposing a new plan.[121]