Valerie Kessler, age 11, of Champaign, I11., for her question:

WHICH LAKE IS THE WORLDS LARGEST?

Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the world. It is in the east central part of North America, bounded on the north and east by Ontario, Canada, on the south by Michigan and Wisconsin and on the west by Wisconsin.

Lake Superior is the deepest and westernmost of the five Great Lakes. It is 350 miles long and has a surface area of about 31,700 square miles. About two thirds of the lake is within the United States.

The north lakeshore is fringed by bold, rocky cliffs, some rising 1,000 feet above the water surface. Near Munsing, Mich., on the southeastern shore, are the Picture Rocks, multi colored sandstone cliffs 50 to 300 feet high, which in many places present fantastic forms.

Several large forests border the lake.

The lake drains into Lake Huron, to the southeast, through the Saint Mary Rivers, which is navigable via the Sault Sainte Marie Canals.

Lake Superior very rarely freezes over, but ice along its shores closes its ports from December to mid April.