Are Lake Michigan and Lake Huron The Same Lake?

The Great Lakes are the world's largest freshwater lakes, and Michigan is fortunate enough to be surrounded on nearly every side. Stupidly, when I was in my The Walking Dead phase, I always felt so smug thinking about how fortunate I was to not have to worry about water in an apocalypse.

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No, I have no idea if that science works out but I prefer to live in ignorance. It's just another mystery of life.

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But perhaps the bigger mystery is created by a mere five-mile stretch between the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula and the bottom of the Upper Peninsula, where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan connect. Why are they different lakes when they're actually one big lake?

The Simple Answer

Lake Huron and Lake Michigan connect at the Straits of Mackinac where the Mackinac Bridge connects the peninsulas. The answer is simple: for naming purposes. Like the oceans, the lakes are hydrologically connected, so their water is the same despite being in different regions. The other Great Lakes are connected via rivers, but Lake Michigan-Huron is the only lake considered one body of water.

READ MORE: Who Sets Mackinac Island Ferry Prices? Not the Ferry Companies | 

If Lake Michigan-Huron were referred to as one large Lake Michigan it would make trying to pinpoint an exact location rather difficult, wouldn't it? If you say you were going to Lake Michigan, that could mean Port Huron, St Ignace, or Holland.

It goes beyond that, too. The lakes and the people who inhabit them have their own identities and are different ecologically. So yes, there isn't any real reason the lakes are "split" other than it is far more convenient to have them designated differently.