This story appears in the December 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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North America’s most valuable resource is at risk
The Great Lakes helped make the U.S. an economic powerhouse. Now climate change, pollution, and invasive species threaten their complex ecosystems.
LAKE MICHIGAN
Floodwater pours over a walkway at Montrose Beach near downtown Chicago. In the first half of 2019, heavy rains raised the lake level by almost two feet. Scientists expect the frequency of extreme weather to increase across the region in the decades ahead.
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