Several states in the Great Lakes region—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania—border the five Great Lakes and contain many inland lakes.
The eight Great Lake states (the aforementioned, plus Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York) collectively share the largest freshwater system in the world.
The Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) hold about 20 percent of the planet’s surface freshwater and stretch across thousands of square miles between the United States and Canada.
When researchers decided how to measure which state has the most lakes, they discovered the answer depends on definitions. Some studies count only named lakes, while others include unnamed ponds and smaller bodies of water.
Either way, the northern part of the country shaped by glaciers contains many lakes. Maps of these freshwater locations show how geology, climate, and watersheds helped create so many lakes across the United States.
We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.
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