Lake Michigan, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana

The United States and Canada have the world's biggest system of interconnected freshwater lakes in terms of total area and second-largest in terms of the total value. This group of five lakes, known as the Great Lakes of North America, holds 21% of the world's fresh water by surface area. All of the lakes, which are located on or near the Canadian border, are connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River.

With a shoreline covering four states, Lake Michigan is the third biggest of the Great Lakes and the only one that does not touch Canada. On Lake Michigan, Chicago is a major city. However, the Lower Peninsula area of the lake attracts the majority of visitors. Top attractions include the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which features 450-foot-high sand dunes.