The Great Lakes Megaregion

Going clockwise from the north, the easternmost state in the Great Lakes region is New York. The city of Buffalo, New York is situated on the far eastern beach of Lake Erie, and you can see the Niagara River feeding into the famous Niagara Falls to the north. Going further south to Pennsylvania, there are a couple notable cities related to the Great Lakes. One of the largest cities in the state, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is located about two hours south of Erie, Pennsylvania. This city has direct access to Lake Erie and sits immediately on the south shore. Further southwest is Ohio, the capital of which is named Columbus, Ohio. The capital is situated nearly in the direct center of the state, with one of the larger cities, Cincinnati, Ohio, found southwest of the capital, and Indianapolis, Indiana across the state border to the west. The city of Cleveland, Ohio is one of the most populous in the state, and it’s based along the southern shore of Lake Erie. The next state northwest of these areas is Michigan, the only state that shares a name with one of the Great Lakes. One of the larger cities is named Detroit, Michigan and sits on the west shore of Lake St Clair, a small freshwater lake situated between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan is on the other side of the state, near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Southwest of Michigan you have Illinois, whose most populous city, Chicago, Illinois, is placed near the very southernmost point of Lake Michigan. The last of the Great Lakes states is Wisconsin, north of Illinois. The state capital of Madison, Wisconsin is only about an hour away from the shores of lake Michigan, though the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is right on the water of the western shore.